The Devil in Wonderland
by CaptnBeck
Summary: When a mysterious and twitching creature walks into Devil May Cry with a ticking pocket watch and a gun, Dante Redgrave is left with no option but to give chase. Little does he know that he's about to fall down the Rabbit Hole—However, this is no longer the land of tea parties and un-birthdays Wonderland was broken. And so was she.
1. 1 Dante

Disclaimer: I, the Co-Authoress of this story, do not sadly own any rights to Devil May Cry, Or, in fact, American Mcgee's take on Alice in Wonderland. Sadly. Because this crossover makes too much sense, and would be made canon, if such was in our power.

What was originally a humble GaiaOnline roleplay has now given birth or a behemoth tale of madness, blood, sweat tears, and tea parties in abundance. Hold on folks, it's a long and bumpy ride.

But it's worth it. I promise you.

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Pulling out a tarnished pocket watch, the man frowned down at his reflection in its face. This was an unusual form, something he wasn't entirely used to. After all, in this world, were he to run around as himself—well, it wouldn't be looked upon all too highly. The last time he'd traveled this realm in this form was for her. That had been so long ago though now and, as much as they'd depended on her in the past—she couldn't save them now.

At least, not alone.

He didn't have much time. This would have to work and it would have to work fast. He had traveled far to make it to his destination (with more than a few bumps along the way). The Queen had done her research, they had found the target and now it was his job to acquire the person they needed. The mere thought had him shaking with anxiety. He was already a twitchy creature, his nose near constant in it's movement. This, however, was a whole new level of danger he was putting himself into.

Of course, danger with a purpose was better than lying down and dying. He, like many of the rest of them, had no intention of going down without a fight. They were all depending on him to do his part and so, he would try. Pulling his red jacket tighter around his shivering form, he tried to puff out his chest. He was the one with the upper hand here. He wouldn't leave until he got his way—or until the target filled him with bullet holes. With a deep breath, he pushed against the grimy door he'd been pacing in front of for the last ten minutes, eager to get this whole ordeal done and over with.

Upon entering the establishment, the smell of stale beer and greasy pizza stung his nostrils. Cigarette smoke hung in the air, a lazy tendril of smoke rising from an ignored ashtray on the desk before him. A large pair of boots were propped up on the desk, leading to a long pair of legs crossed at the ankles. Those legs belonged to his target, a man sitting so that he was balanced on the back two legs of his chair, a magazine draped over his face. Beneath the tattered pages of "Playboy" were strands of silvered hair and a stubbled chin. The target appeared to be asleep but the visitor was positive that appearances were highly deceiving.

After all, he himself wasn't normally so…human.

Softly, he cleared his throat. Despite his best attempts at being firm and forward, his voice still warbled when he spoke up. "I have a job for you."

The magazine slid down the target's face revealing a pair of sharp sapphire eyes, a straight nose, and a single raised brow. The target tilted his head slightly as he looked the visitor up and down, a hint of amusement tugging at the right corner of his mouth. He had met a lot of strange people in his life but this guy took the prize. Decked out in some sort of red overcoat with a white tuxedo shirt and black slacks, the guy looked ready to go to some sort of theme party. Instead of looking ready for any amount of fun however, his face was dreadfully serious and…twitching?

Pulling his feet from the desk, he sat the chair back in it's normal position and leaned forward on his elbows. "A job?" He asked, obviously not able to take the guy before him seriously. "You do know what kind of business I'm in, right?" This guy looked as if he needed a caterer...not a demon hunter.

Hands shaking, the visitor nodded. "Y-Yes...that's why I've c-come here," he stuttered. He could curse himself for showing such obvious fear. However, his pride had no place in the matter. This man was their target and he couldn't let something small like fear stand in the way of retrieving him for the Queen.

Reaching into his coat pocket, he pulled out a small pistol and aimed it at the man behind the desk, pulling the trigger. This probably wasn't the smartest option but it was all he could do. Or, rather, it was all his hands could do. He'd meant to simply point the gun and act as threatening as possible (not an easy task, considering his species), but he'd been shaking so badly at merely holding the weapon that he'd squeezed the trigger. Trembling, he watched as the bullet hit its mark, piercing the target low in his left shoulder. He knew it would get the attention he needed without having to explain more than was necessary. He'd been warned.

The Hunter is quick to temper. Be careful with your words—but use this to your advantage, if you must.

Doing what he did best, he hopped to his feet and bolted out the door, hoping with all of his heart that the target would chase him. Never had he wanted to be pursued so badly in all of his life but, if this man didn't follow him, their plan would be a failure.

And truly, believing was so much easier with physical evidence on display.

"The hell...?" Reaching up to touch his shoulder, the Hunter rolled his eyes. Was there a sign on his door that said, 'C'mon in to Devil May Cry...the boss loves to be impaled, shot at, and pummeled'? Or, perhaps it was national 'Attack Dante Redgrave without giving a Reason' day. He swore the mayor had written that little holiday into effect years ago. Getting to his feet, he leaned over the desk and grimaced as the bullet fell out of his shoulder, hitting the scarred wood with a soft 'ping'. A healing factor was great but that didn't mean it couldn't hurt like a bitch. There was no way he was letting that twitchy little man get away with shooting him—at least, not without good explanation. Time to give chase.

Running out the door after his attacker (and what a pathetic feeling that was. He'd been attacked by a guy in a fuckin' tuxedo shirt!), he found it easy to keep up with him. Turning a corner and reaching forward, his fingers just found their grip on the back of the man's collar as he was pulled into what could only be described as a portal. Green and swirling with energy, he didn't have time to think twice before he was sucked through to the other side.

Landing with a hard thud, his head hit the ground with a crack and the last thing he saw before losing consciousness was the man scurrying off into the distance. Through his blurry gaze, eh swore the man had changed though. White ears and a cotton tail…like a rabbit. And it was less of a run as he escaped and more of a…hop. Before he could conjure up anything more brilliant than that, the darkness swamped his mind and he gave in to the loss of consciousness.

When he started to come around, the first thing he noticed was the pounding of his head. Slowly, he slid his hand along the ground until it reached his head. His calloused fingers searched through his silver hair, finding the protruding goose egg and wincing. Pushing himself upright, he forced his eyes open, blinking away the blurriness from his vision as he tried to get a look at his surroundings. "Damned idiot…where's he led me off to?"

Not that he could really lay blame on the assailant. He was the one who'd given chase, who'd fallen into a portal. It wasn't the first time he'd gone face first into a big ol' pile of trouble.

Getting to his feet, Dante looked around, pushing his jagged locks from his eyes. Wherever he had landed, it was looking pretty rundown. The ground beneath him was covered in inches upon inches of dust, the walls barely standing around him. With the toe of his boot, he pushed open the door in front of him, smirking when it fell straight off of it's rusted hinges and smashed to the ground, sending up a cloud of dust in it's wake.

Walking out of the building, Dante realized he was in a ghost town, all of the buildings equally dilapidated and abandoned. Beyond the village was a wild and overgrown forest, dark enough to even make the Devil take pause. Cautiously, he moved his hands to rest on the grips of his twin pistols. Despite the abandoned look of this place, he'd learned his lesson in the past. It was best never to walk into a situation unarmed.

Scanning the area for signs of life, his gaze hardening as he caught sight of something white and fluffy up ahead of him. It took three long steps for him to tower over the creature and even less to pick it up by the collar of it's jacket, bringing them nose to nose. "I'm not sure where we're at but there is only room for one of us to rock this look," he muttered, gesturing down to his own jacket, red and leather, the tail trailing out behind him. "Let's be honest, I'm doing a better job of it."

He'd been expecting to be face to face with the man who had attacked him in his shop. Instead, he found himself up against a well-dressed rabbit, twitching and struggling in his grasp, clearly terrified as his little legs swung in the air. "I'm s-s-s-sorry for harming you but I had to get you here. I had to g-g-get you to f-f-follow me! You have to help us. Wonderland is cursed!"

"Great, glad to hear it but that's not my problem to deal with, buddy. I'm a little more focused on dealing with the asshole who thinks it's alright to walk into my shop and open fire."

"I-I-I swear, I meant you no true harm, D-D-D—ah!"

The rabbit dropped from his grasp as a blade went whizzing past his head, right between his face and the creature he'd been questioning before embedding itself in the doorframe behind him. Sparking with a purple sort of energy, the blade was covered in dried flecks of blood and engraved with an intricate design. It was small, like a chef's knife almost—but deadly sharp.

It figured. While he'd been busy questioning the fluffy little bunny, the real threat had arrived.


	2. 2 Alice

A/N: This Story will feature alternating points of view. In our introductory chapter, we saw the events through our favorite Demon Hunter's eyes. Now how about someone a little more... _Unhinged._

Please R&R!

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Just how long had it been now? Since she last saw the sun? Since she last felt it's warmth permeate her skin, and warm the confines of her soul. Alice had long since lost track of time. She hadn't even seen the Rabbit in ages to ask him what time it was. He was probably off having an anxiety attack about being punctual again. The very least he could do was point her in the right direction. It had to have been at least a year since her most recent tumble back into Wonderland.

And had it changed... But so had she.

No longer full of rainbows, singing flowers and people giggling over tea. No. This was a realm condemned to hell. Flowery scenery had been exchanged for polluted, ruined wastelands. Empty crumbling cities, disgusting mills and distilleries. It was every little bit the picture of an apocalypse. "It is only fitting I would suppose." She had huffed upon realizing her predicament, what seemed like an eon ago. Ash drifted airborne through the ether, her pale hand swatting away the charred speck. "A broken world for a broken girl."

Things had been... Difficult for Alice as of late. The walls of the Pale Palace had been seemingly closing in on her these days. What used to be a welcoming space, had turned sullen and stifling these days. Tea parties had been cancelled, meetings held in their place. Halls that used to be full of laughter were now full of silence, scurrying servants who dared not utter a peep, for fear of upsetting her once again. Warm gazes and tender smiles had been exchanged for anxiously bitten lips and empathetic smiles… Or none at all.

When was the last time Knave dared to smile at her?

Even Lance's smiles were growing few and far between these days. Though she had bore witness to a few, on occasion. A new squire had been added to their ranks, a refugee from the neighboring kingdom, freshly freed from the cells of the Dark Keep, if her fragile mind could recollect correctly. His visage was blurry in her mind. But all that had mattered was that he was a fresh face, a happy, grateful face.

The memory is dodgy at best. But then again, when was the last time she had ventured outside of her room?

It was only at the beckoning of him that she had breached the threshold once more.

She doubted anyone noticed her presence in the halls. Her dear Knights had long since given up their posts at her door, the servants had stopped traveling her halls. When was the last time the Queen even graced her with her presence? Alice could scarce remember. However, it was truly no wonder her dear friends were flocking to other, fresher faces, or throwing themselves into their duty. Who wanted to entertain the whims of a mad girl, shrieking on and one about the smell of smoke...

Or some demented thinly veiled asylum, for broken girls like her to be picked apart by the good doctor Angus Bumby. She hadn't lasted there long before this realm became her home once again.

Alice just had a feeling she wouldn't be leaving as easily as she had in the past.

She brushed her raven black hair away from her face, nose wrinkling as the smell of soot and grime invaded her senses, and pulled her from her melancholy wonderings. It was a stark contrast to last she roamed these streets. At a time, she would have wondered why the sky was blue, or what made the flowers bloom in the bright colors that they were.

But the sky wasn't blue. And the flowers had wilted and died.

And there she remained, retracing the pathway her ghost had taken, kicking up charred Earth beneath her boots, her fingers brushing against glorified kitchen blade tucked into her apron. Though the Vorpal Blade would greatly protest at being called as such. The blade hummed in the depth of her pocket, growling in a sense. The sentient blade had its quirks. Numerous ones. the growled, the crackle of energy, the wisps of violent light that shrieked about the blade like lightning barely scratched the surface of the blade that had served as her dearest companion in these dark times.

At times. the blade was her guiding light. Guiding her through Wonderland, through life, just as much as it guided her through the battles that fell along the way.

She felt the fine hairs at the back of her neck stand on end, a weight pressed itself down upon her shoulders, and she didn't need Cheshire to speak to know he was there.

"So do you know how a raven is like a writing desk?" She rolled her eyes.

"Are both trying to kill me? Because I'm getting bloody tired of this muck, Chesh."

"You lack discipline. You have wasted ten years, and what have you regained of your sanity? Of your strength?" Chesh was scolding her, curling himself around her, his tail swishing over her chest. His claws dug gently within her shoulder with warning.. Alice only sighed in response. Ten years then?

"At least someone is keeping track. I'll note that you're as reliable as a calendar, Cheshire."

"And I will note that you are as reliable as a broken clock." The barb rolled off her shoulders, emerald eyes averting themselves, lost in thought once more. Ten years. and only the gods knew how long she had in Wonderland. Her trips previous were never more than a handful of days at most-It was all the time she was afford, back in the day. It was all her lifestyle allowed her, and then? It was all the nurses would allow her, before their pills and would drag her back. But now? The days had turned into months, and the seasons had changed several times. What of her body in the real world? Did it even exist? Or did she simply disappear. Nothing but an empty bed in London,leaving behind a house full of confused children and a boggled doctor.

Boots clicked softly as she made her way down a cobblestone path between the run down buildings. The sky a eerie, smoky shade of yellow above her. The smell of sulfur hung thick in the air, and it pulled her from her thoughts more than once. Was this supposed to be a leisurely stroll?

"No one gave me a guide. None of you have been any help." Alice huffed, but reached up to the Cheshire Cat and stroked his neck all the same. The malnourished, skeletal cat pressed its head against her cheek in response, a purr low in its throat.

"I never known you to be the type of girl who sat and waited to be guided. This is your life slipping away into the abyss, Alice. Do you wish to perish in this hell?" She stalled in her footing, her intense emerald gaze dropping to her boots. Ash had begun to settle on them, despite her progress. The destruction of her Fair Wonderland still followed, still consumed her.

"I shouldn't be alive. I should have died long ago-" A brief cry escaped her lips. pain shooting through her shoulder until her body bent to contort itself from the source of the pain. Alice stumbled and glared at the mangy cat, who only glared in response. A great feat for this feline, who was infamous for his maniacal grin.

There was no grin this time.

"Silence your mouth. Before I bring new meaning to the phrase 'Cat has your tongue.', dear Alice..." Alice glared openly, a retort set on that same tongue before movement was caught her in peripheral vision.

Movement was not expected to be found, not in this charred wasteland of what used to be a bustling forest-side town that once stood proudly here. Now scorched in fire and brimstone, the landscape was painted in blacks and greys and splotches of yellows from the stained sky above. It had made the red all the more noticeable.

It was the crash that came next. And her boots launched themselves into action. Fingers finding her trusted blade once more. Some habits died hard.

And curiosity must always be satisfied.

Rabbit's appearance was a notable one. His white fur, the vibrancy of his riding coat that encased his miniature stature was the brightest object to be held amidst this monochromatic scene. Alice shouldn't have been surprised, Rabbit was always popping up in the strangest of places, usually just as disoriented and perplexed as her as to how it was he ended up in such predicaments, before turning his anxiety to the time, and the fate of his punctuality.

Even more so with him struggling in the clutches of a foreigner.

She quite nearly mistook him for another Rabbit, or perhaps the same Rabbit, caught in a disagreement with a Rabbit that was both himself, and not himself. Or perhaps even catching the rabbit in mid transformation, and finding himself at odds with both sides of the spectrum. The color schemes were the the same. Both donned in red coats, pale hair as silver as Rabbit's coat (Though she supposed the soot and grime was to blame...) Alice merely stood in incertitude. In Wonderland, anything was possible. Twins, Untwins, Rabbits turning into humans, Humans turning into cards, ravens turning into writing desks. Childhoods turning to ash, Champions turning into shtooms.

She half expected the scene to play without her, for a resolution to be found without need for her to intervene. It seemed to be the habit Wonderland had fallen to as of late. However, her blade would not have it.

It crackled, and itched for use. With a roll of her eyes Alice shrugged Chesh off her shoulders freeing her movements as she gripped at her blade once more. Feeling the familiar, thrilling hum of potential devastation, controlled in a grip that was well known for being anything but. The duo was busy in their bickering(Well, the taller one was threatening, Rabbit was merely stammering, but she supposed when the two were combined, it constituted as bickering) so it was no surprise that when she took the time to stand side face, and aim her blade at the humanesque impersonator, not a brow was raised in her direction. A quick flick of the wrist was all that was needed.

The blade made a sickening noise as it tore through wood, splinters sprayed out among the duo. It gave Alice a moment of pause, pale lips parting in silent question.

Vorpal never missed.

But perhaps the blade was becoming dull and inaccurate, after months of misuse. Dark brows furrowed together. Instead of a dead impostor, and a fleeing Rabbit, she had drawn the attention of both.

Her tongue jumped on ahead of her, as her hand returned to her now empty hip pocket."Rabbit, if you can be trusted for nothing else, it is your ability to fall into trouble."

"As can you." She could hear Cheshire's grin behind her.

The impostor loosened his grip upon rabbit then, the white bundle of nerves quaking as he hit the ground, dust ad ash bellowing around him. Alice's gaze was more focused upon the steely blue stare that had now turned upon her. Impostor indeed. Red coat, a bastardized version of Rabbits own, hair a pitiful shade of silver-not the stark white Rabbit often sported. Skin was sun kissed-What use would Rabbit have for a tan? And Rabbit's eyes were red, not blue!

Throwing her blade had been an error on her part. Fingers flexed upon her hip. The impostor stood well over six foot, as she need not stand closer to foreigner to know he would tower over her five-foot-nothing frame.

Recovering from his tumble to the Earth, Rabbit straightened his own coat, smoothing out the creases, tapping large foot several times in succession. Was he drawing attention to himself? Or was he merely fidgeting? Alice felt his gaze draw back and forth between the two of them as they stood in silent stand off, before calling out. "I've got him here Cheshire! I'm off to find the Caterpillar. He needs to know about this. I…" He gulped audibly then. The impostor still looked on, but as did Alice, waiting for the other boot to fall, perhaps. Rabbit panted. "I hope we were right about all of this!" Giving the Impostor one last, terrified look, the nervous git took off hopping, speeding down the uneven cobblestone road as fast as his little legs could carry him.

And then there was silence.

Alice could feel the impostor's gaze burning a hole through her stomach. He was sizing her up, surely. His lips twitched, seemingly in mirth, and Alice felt herself bristle. No doubt he was running an internal commentary about her. Scrutinizing her waifish stature. His body took its time to turn to face her proper, and Alice found herself falling in step, mirroring his actions, offering him the same scrutiny. He was tall, that much had been well established. But Alice took note of the muscles that tensed and shifted. Another oversight, Rabbit hardly had an athletic build, even when he donned his Glimmer for Otherland. This creature was built not unlike a well seasoned fight, the kind of brutes she saw cross blades with Knave and Lance in the tournaments. Had the rival Kingdoms finally made their move, and sent an assassin?

His hands twitched.

Her body half lurched, her boot kicking out a loose stone that had laid against it in their prolonged standoff. She had expected him to rush her. But the Impostor perplexed her further, Finger-less gloved hands merely turning outwards. That twitching lip had stretched into a full blown, crooked grin that had Cheshire purring at her feet. But for Alice, the sight did little more than flip her stomach, and drop it into her boots.

He finally spoke out, his tone barely holding back his laughter. "Listen, I don't know who you are or where this is. I was promised a job though, by the rabbit. So, where's the demon?"

Alice's eyes narrowed. Excuse her? A job? His body language screamed of the white flag. Perhaps her knife trick apparently had been enough to subdue him. But her curiosity was piqued. Usually, when cornered, the beasts dropped their acts. They shed their false skins, a slave to their rage. Too often, she had seen creatures break their 'character; in mid sentence when confronted by her. Their jaws falling slack, necks snapping as they spewed black ooze at her or shrieked incoherently. But this impostor maintained his ruse. If he was hostile, he was smart enough to hide it from her.

He wasn't from the Dark Kingdom then.

"...What?"

Cheshire sneered at her side. "You are content to suffer in your illusions, but some of us have grown tired of watching you die Alice. So we have sought out him" He gestured to the man with a swish of his tail, a cloud of dust flowing in its wake. "Do try not to put your knife through his heart."

So he was summoned.

"...No promises."

Alice warily took a few paces forward, curiosity guiding her movements, now that Cheshire had deemed the 'Impostor' not to be as such. But merely a stranger. A replacement. she placed herself out of his reach, but instead perched herself atop misplaced slab of what had once been someone's concrete stoop. The Stranger was less imposing, when she could sneakily shrink the height difference between them.

Her hand raised slightly, the Stranger's hand made move to meet hers. However the blade wobbled in the wall, before plucking itself out and returning to her, like any loyal Wonderland weapon should. It was then that Alice allowed herself to smile-No...Smirk, perhaps. her lips had long forgotten how to smile in any sense of elation. But they remembered condescension well. "This land is full of demons. I have half a mind to think you one of them."

"Half a mind? That is being generous. Alice, your sanity lies in fragments and you still refuse help?" Chesh vanished at her side, shaking his head when he reappeared… At the feet of the Stranger.

Judas.

Her feline 'friend' cranked his neck, grin on full display."Pay little mind to the girl. as I'm sure her death wish is of no interest to you. But she is correct about the demons." Alice blinked, jaw nearly agape.

"You know I can hear you right?"

The Stranger smirked then, dancing crookedly across his lips, his gaze still upon her. Alice felt her nostrils flair, fingers tensing around Vorpal. She had half a mind to cut into him now, and balance out that cocky grin. Something sparked in those too-blue eyes of his, something that burned at her stomach-seemingly for his enjoyment. He finally broke their gaze, just to spite her, she would bet her blade upon it. To regard Cheshire, his head turned askew. "Just so happens, demons are my specialty."

Of course, because he is one. A snake at that.

He continued, of course, oblivious to her internal sneering. "Of course, you already seem to know that considering you are the one who wanted me here. Generally I require some form of payment however for my services," He glanced up at her again, and her heart jumped into her throat, her stomach doing somersaults within her abdomen. Payment?

The past must be paid for, Alice.

If her face gave way any trace of the fear that fluttered through her, he made no comment about it. His gaze still bore into hers."If this world is as full of demons as you claim, it's going to take quite a sum to cover my costs."

Squatting down, he examined the cat at his feet, his face turned serious. "I don't do charity work cat. What'll it be?"

Alice's jaw did drop when it was made obvious she was all but shut out of the conversation. Cheshire even made move to disconnect them, to place himself between the two of them. She was nothing more than a witness! This was her Wonderland was it not? A world of her own mad creation! If she wanted to sit in ruins who were they to tell her no?

Who were they to keep her then!?

"Wait, if he's from reality then why haven't I been sent back?" She was here for two years for crying out loud. Not that she was in any real rush to head back to being strapped down to a bed and force fed Lithium to stop her wailing...

Chesh huffed, tossing a glance over his shoulder. He turned back to Dante. And were they in any better company, she would have felt tears prick at the corner of her eyes. Of all days, why shut her out now? "It is her trauma that has corrupted this land. And the demons here have taken prisoner of her as payment...Your payment shall not be as burdensome."

Burdensome. That's what she was.

It would have been kinder to twist Vorpal into her heart, and feast upon it. What would have been tears, turned into frustration, burning hot in the pit of her stomach. "Chesh are you familiar with the expression, 'More than one way to skin a cat'?" The grey feline physically shuddered at the comment. But Alice felt no compassion for this creature who was supposed to be her confidant. Her boot tapped in impatience.

But Cheshire continued. "The girl is rich. Her broken mind has no use for wealth. Consider it your payment, to be paid in full if you manage to cleanse this hellish place."

The Stranger held the cat's gaze while he seemingly considered his options. Alice threw her eyes into another dramatic roll, keeping them peeled back to the yellow sky, blinking furiously as moisture built up in her orbs unwillingly. Surely a mere eviction notice would have been kinder, than forcing herself out of the Palace to bear witness to this.

Then again, he could always refuse-"You got yourself a deal." Or not.

The Stranger stood then, boots crunching down on the charred earth as her made move to approach. Her arms crossed angrily over her was her replacement? If she narrowed her eyes any further she would just be closing them, so she settled for crossing her arms over her chest. Wonderland was her world. Her mess. It seemed fitting that she would die here while her body rotted away in some asylum. But Wonderland had moved on. Chosen itself a new champion.

Good. Maybe she could die in peace then.

"Broken huh?" He finally spoke to her. His voice too warm, too kind to match his role in her Hell. That crooked smirk was back in full force. "I'm of the mind that if something is broken, you either find a new use for it or you throw it away. Let's see which one you'll be." As if he had any place to judge her! Her lips parted, but her voice was gone, seemingly having found a small, dark corner of her soul to cower in its in self loathing. He seemed all the more amused for her effort. "You seem good enough with that knife of yours-it might be fun if you come along for the ride, " he added with a jagged grin, tossing the comment over his shoulder as he walked past her and headed towards the smoking woods. "If this is your world Alice, bring it on. The sooner, the better. If you want out so bad, it's about time you start fighting for it."

"Him? You chose him?" She hissed to Chesh as the Stranger started on without her, visibly seething at his comment. Chesh noted the anger in her eyes...And only grinned wider.

"A spark needed to be lit." With that he vanished into the aether, his grin the last to go, as was his trademark. Alice growled and clutched at the hilt of her knife, stalking after the Stranger. So Wonderland wanted to forget about her and be saved by some... Hunter for hire? She would see how long this would last. With demons like hers, he wouldn't last a minute.

"Forgive me if I don't become attached to you." She scoffed at the red clad Stranger, uncertain if the burning in her abdomen was betrayal or just plain jealousy. "I trust you'll do the same."


	3. 3 Dante

A/N: Thank you kindly for all the views thus far, Though it would be greatly appreciated if you left a kindly review! The Authoresses of this precious little work would much appreciate it!

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Dante was used to women reacting to him in a variety of ways. He was used to them laughing at his jokes or rolling their eyes at his humor, staring at he walked past, eyes wide, mouths slightly ajar. He was never fully sure if they were looking at him that way because he was a hunter, because they thought him good looking, or because they saw the truth of what he was.

A monster.

Whatever the case, he was used to a wealth of reactions. Lust, delight, annoyance, disgust—he'd run the gambit with women. As for himself, he generally went for the same type when it came to women-easy. Easy translated to a very important word in his mind however; expendable. This girl however, with her burning emerald eyes and her spitfire attitude and her kitchen blade and her apron, got under his skin in a whole different way. He found himself grinning, shaking his head as a chuckle left his lips—the exact opposite of what she was likely looking for from him. "No worries there, sweetheart. I'm not the relationship type. Show me the demons and I'll gladly be on my way to your riches. You can then go back to being just like the rest of us-broken and stuck in a shitty reality."

He walked easily through the woods, his arms relaxed at his sides. His hands would be on Ebony and Ivory, his trusted twin pistols, in an instant if need be but he felt no imminent danger here. Besides, he was still taking in his surroundings. This world was all wrong, as if someone had grabbed it and shaken it until everything was on its head. The woods were dark and the trees were a sickly greenish black color as if the very life was being sucked from them. It could have been beautiful, once upon a time. He could imagine it to be full of life, the nature so bursting with color that it practically hurt one's eyes. However, this was no "Wonder"land, as the Rabbit had described it.

This was just another shithole location, no different from the others.

His boots remained near silent on their path, his blue eyes sweeping over the landscape as they traversed the woods. It was eerily quiet. He was so used to the noise Fortuna provided that silence made him uneasy. There was no sound of rushing cars, no chatter on the streets. Not even the evil whispering of demons as they lured humans out to do their bidding…and become their meal.

As they walked, he could feel the tension rolling off of his reluctant companion. He had to wonder why she even bothered to come with him. If he was doing a job meant for her, shouldn't she be glad to be, well…fired? If her mind was truly as broken as they all made it out to be, shouldn't she feel some sort of relief that the pressure was off of her shoulders?

Instead, here she was, stomping after him, looking ready to cut down anyone who so much as spoke a word. Which, of course, made him want to speak volumes. That cat had raised her hackles and she certainly wasn't feeling kind towards him—why not expound on the damage already done? "So...what made you go crazy?" He generally wasn't one for small talk but, considering this world was supposedly built out of her broken mind, he figured that getting to the source of the problem wasn't such a bad idea. After all, he wanted to know what sort of broken they meant. Was she the sort to cut his head from his shoulders—or was she just going to start freaking out on him? He needed to be prepared to best whatever damage she might threaten upon him.

Her eyes darted back and forth between the striped stockings covering her long legs and the leather pants covering his own, sticking mostly to the ground as she seemed to consider the question. He noticed the way her lips pursed and twitched, as if working out the answer for herself, fighting for the words, ordering them just right in her head before she finally spoke up.

"Blood and fire. And maybe the clockwork wasn't right…"

With a shake of her head, she withdrew her weapon. Her fingers ran along the blade, picking a the blood flakes there, tracing the designs etched into it's side. A chuckle left her lips, as if she had thought of something sadly amusing but she didn't enlighten him to her thought pattern. Instead, those wide emerald eyes of hers lifted and she stood stock still, her gaze looking far beyond him.

Turning his head, he looked to find where her interest lay and found a shimmering pool upon the ground. It could have been water…outside of the fact that it was black in color and pulled at his very soul. He knew that feeling. It was the same feeling he always got on a hunt. He didn't need to hear her confirmation to know what lay ahead of them.

"Corruption," she muttered. "A pool of demons."

As if to prove her point a lanky, black creature pulled itself from the pool, shrieking out to the forest around them. It's mouth was stretched wide, corruption spilling from it's lips, it's eyes just hollow pits as it stared out at them, eager to find a victim between them.

Dante's eyes locked on the filth in front of him, and a wicked smile stretched his lips as he watched the demon form from the oil-like substance. "That's my cue," he murmured, pulling out Ebony and Ivory. Crossing his arms at the wrists, he fired two shots directly through the demon's head and watched as it reformed itself around the bullets. Guns wouldn't work in this case, that much was clear. Rolling his eyes in annoyance, he holstered the pistols, mentally promising them a chance in the next battle.

There was always a next battle.

Onto his next option, he lifted his sword from his back. Rebellion was a blade at least as long as Alice was tall, thick and heavy and difficult to handle for anyone outside of the Hunter. He however hefted the blade as if it were nothing. Swinging Rebellion with ease, he felt it slice like butter through the demon, only to find the damn thing regenerating once again. It seemed it didn't matter the weapon—it was the enemy itself.

Annoyed, he glanced down at the glimmering pool it was spawning from and realized that the demon was taking time to become a solid form, starting at the tips of it's toes and working it's way up. What a pain in the ass.

Looking towards Alice, he yelled out, "These things are taking time to become real. Can't hurt something that isn't real Alice!" This world was of her imagination, right? Perhaps with enough egging on, she could imagine these things would just die already. After all—he could only keep them from regenerating for so long.

"It's like you think I haven't dealt with them before." His partner muttered with a roll of her large eyes. Alice darted towards the creature, determined to reach it before it solidified. The creature hissed and lunged at her, but with grace that seemed unlike the girl she dodged it. Twirling around the demon, she ran her finger along her blade and the short sword warped into a...Clockwork bunny?

Alice grinned and shoved the toy into the chest of the creature just before the cavity solidified. She made a hasty retreat, skidding to a halt next to Dante."3..2...1..." Boom.

Smirking triumphantly as the demon was blown into five separate pieces, cocky sneer offered to her 'partner'.

Dante watched as chunks of the demon landed at his feet, his lips curling into a smirk of his own. "A crazy girl with explosives-you are getting more interesting by the second." And more dangerous to his well being but what kind of girl wasn't more fun that way?

Trish would have his head for thinking that.

Focusing on the matter at hand, he nodded to the shimmering pool of corruption once more. "Unfortunately, there are more of them coming...got more bombs?"

Demons continued to form from the oil like spill and come after them, seemingly hurried by the sudden threat to their livelihood. These demons were much quicker at becoming solid creatures than their predecessors and that fact alone had the Hunter smiling. Pulling a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from a pocket inside of his jacket, he lit up and gripped Rebellion's hilt tighter. "Time to work."

Walking forward, he approached one of the nearly fully formed demons and shoved Rebellion through it's chest. The demon screamed and died on his blade and he flung it off into a group of half formed demons coming out of the oil, effectively knocking them back into the substance.

"Bloody things!" Alice hissed, her British accent becoming a little more predominant as the creatures reformed again and again. While Dante fought the creatures back, using their own mass against each new creature, Alice knelt and dipped her finger into the pool of corruption. Her pale digit came back coated in the oil and he saw her patting the pockets of her apron from the corner of his eye. Suddenly, her head snapped up and her eyes focused in on him, narrowing on the cigarette dangling from his lips. She let out a shrill whistle and called out, "Smoking is terrible for your health, theirs too!"

Cleanly slicing the head off of another formed demon, Dante speared two more onto the end of Rebellion and stabbed the blade down into the ground, effectively pinning them to the oily pit they had come from. As dense as many would like to think him, he could definitely take a hint. Taking the cigarette from his mouth, he dropped it into the blackened pool and the entire thing went up in flames, the creatures shrieking as their source was destroyed, their bodies melting into nothing.

Allowing the flames to clear the substance from his sword, he swung Rebellion onto his back and turned to look to Alice.. The girl could hold her own-that much was true. If so, why did she chose to be stuck in this hellish world? Not like it was that much different from what the world was becoming but hey, that's what he was trying to prevent, right? He just didn't get it though—they said she was broken, crazy even. She just didn't seem all that crazy. In fact, to him she seemed rather clever, even if her wit cost him a cigarette. So, if she was all that put together—why did they need him here?

"Smoking is the least of my problems," he said as way of catching her attention again. Giving her a smirk, he raised a single silvered brow. "You owe me a cigarette. Lead the way," he gestured, nodding towards the path. "This is your world...you should know where we need to go next."

"At least you can take orders..." Alice muttered as she recoiled from the flaming pool, squeezing her eyes tightly shut. The flames seemed to scare her, as if she had to steel herself against the sight. Turning her back on the blaze, she paced away from it and brushed the soot off of her dress, smearing the blood that had landed there upon her apron. Readjusting her stocking, she uttered, "Smoking is a detestable hobby." Standing upright again, she looked around at her surroundings, her voice a touch sad as she added, "This used to be my world but it's out of my control now. We must be close to the Vale of Tears…"

He gave follow as she began to wander off again, agitated over her insinuation that she'd ordered him to do anything. Like he was a dog and she was his master. He wanted to snarl at her but he couldn't help to notice that the very thing he found annoying about her was what most people found irritating about him—his flippant cockiness to cover any situation.

"Smoking isn't a hobby. It's like brushing your teeth. It's just something you do," he commented, folding his hands behind his head as he walked after her. Looking around him, he noticed that the trees were changing, morphing into blackened things that looked so made of ash that a single touch could disintegrate the entire countryside. He was tempted to try it. Perhaps disintegrating this world was the only way to leave it.

Or, perhaps, it was a surefire way to get them both killed.

She had mentioned the Vale of Tears. The only Vale of Tears he was familiar with was the biblical version where one supposedly left behind all of the trials and tribulations of life before transcending to Heaven. Not that he really believed in such a thing but he had a feeling that this place wasn't going to be any better.


	4. 4 Alice

A/N: R&R, you lovelies know the drill!

* * *

Well...At least the trees had grown in a bit more.

Alice supposed it was positive. No longer burnt husks of wood. They actually seemed alive, though their plentiful leaves were not a lush green, but instead the color of blood. They loomed forbiddingly overhead, their leafy limbs stretching out to mask the sky from their view. Truly, it was no big loss, as the yellow, coffee stained sky was hardly a sight worth admiring. Alice spared little words as they continued to trudge further into the wood. Periodically, her darkened boots nudged at a pile of leaves, nudging a rock out of the way, her gaze sweeping through the eerily quiet wood.

So, this was what the day would bring? Alice certainly couldn't blame them for hiring some sort of… Contractor to assist in the work. How long could she truly expect them to wait around, to go about their daily motions while their 'Champion' lay with her madness, holed up in her room. She supposed she should be grateful that her replacement thought well enough of her to allow her to serve as his guide. Not like Cheshire or Rabbit could just as easily do the job. Honestly, she had no idea where it is they should go. The only destination that made any sense would be to _her_ palace…Madness or reality, One thing was certain; the Queen was always the _Heart_ of the problem

But in what direction? Who knew, she lacked a compass!

Alice hopped down from a small rocky ledge, nearly slipping on the sudden appearance of grass. Scorched black, smoggy yellow, crimson leaves began to bleed into dark blues of babbling brooks, and splotches of greenery, struggling to thrive amidst this wasteland… But not a flower in sight.

But there was _that_ thing again.

The fountain.

The young girl etched into the rock face of the meager cliff was Mock Turtle's finest work. Though the likeness to Wonderland's 'dearest' Champion, the brook serving as her tears as she wept into the pool of water that surrounded her at her base, left Alice uncertain if it was meant to be a homage or mockery. Alice grimaced and turned at the sight regardless. "It's taken it in the literal sense now it seems."

She heard her 'companion' leap down from the ledge, his red coat fanning out and brushing against dress, but her gaze remained reluctant upon the rock face sculpture. The area was sprawled with overgrown mushrooms and children's play things-something that unsettled her more than she'd like to admit. Perhaps if they were of normal size, she would have no issue, but few childish objects were enlarged as they scattered through the lush wood. A domino the size of a tree there, a jack that rivaled a boulder here. Alice wasn't sure where to look, so she settled for the ground. This was why she preferred staying put where she was.

"She looks sort of like you. The girl." She snapped her attention towards him, as he nodded up at the statue, and to her credit, she bit back a comment on his astute observation skills. Instead, she noted that his hands had curled into fists, a shake of his head suggesting he was hardly at ease at the sight himself. "Was she always here or did she arrive after you lost your marbles?" Or he could jab at her. As if she didn't have enough people poking and prodding at her…

 _Come now Alice, let's not be silly..._

"Dat would be her!"

Alice's head jerked up at the sound. A honest glare set on a horned creature breaching the surface of the pool of 'tears'. Mock Turtle. Her imaginations first failed creature. One part minotaur, one part turtle, neither one or the other. Just a hodgepodge of the two. He was just as irritating to look at, as he was to listen to, his tone entirely nasal. "Well, when she first came here. She's far less pretty now."

"I'd silence my tongue if I were you Mock Turtle. Last I saw you you were a blubbering mess." She could hear his wails at the back of her mind. "Shouldn't you be in a stew by now?" She had expected to send him running, or at least silence his grin. The Mock Turtle simply cackled, a grating laugh that had her fingers twitching around her blade. He pulled himself up onto the statue's lap, staring at the pair with a cocked eyebrow.

"Duchess has lost her appetite for Turtle. She's craving whiny, self loathing nutjobs." Alice twitched, shooting a glance to Dante.

"Feel free to kill _that_ one."

To her companion's credit, he tried to stifle his laughter, but the shake of his shoulders gave him away, along with that crooked smile she was tempted to fix. "Sorry sweetheart. I don't kill innocents. Even annoying ones." Taking a step forward, he looked down at the Mock Turtle and questioned, "Who's Duchess? She sounds prissy. I don't do well with prissy."

"He's new here isn't he?" Mock Turtle gestured towards Dante with a toothy grin. "No one is innocent. Especially that one, right Alice?" He added, jutting his broad chin towards her.

Alice shifted uncomfortably in her shoes. First Cheshire, then this stranger, now Mock turtle? Everyone was taking turns picking on her now, it was no better than the asylum. She squeezed her blade tight, but it was not rage that filled her veins. Her blade understood, the metal warping and shuddering, bulging until the blade shuddered into her clockwork rabbit once again. One might think she intended to toss the item into the water, and seal the Mock Turtle's fate. But instead, she sought comforted within it, hugging the item to her chest. The good doctor would have a field day with her, were he to see this. Only a truly crazy girl would hug an explosive shaped like a child's plaything.

"The Duchess is a demon." She muttered miserably. The Mock Turtle cackled again.

"A demon? Demons are those pitiful black creatures. The Duchess is much worse, such an ugly cow, she's taken to cannibalism as of late. Emptied the orphanage in a fortnight." Alice shuddered, clinging to her rabbit tighter. "Vowed to have you as her next dish once she gets her hands on you." That didn't seem to scare her any further. In fact she smiled at that.

"I'm not edible... But we should teach her manners..."

"You are hardly in the position to teach her anything, look at you still quaking in your-" But Mock Turtle's insult was drowned out by the pull of a trigger. A shot into the water near the grotesque turtle, making it spin before fleeing underwater with a squeal. The coward.

Her gaze shot sideways to Dante, an arm extended to the water, a pristine, silver, glistening handgun grasped in his leather gloved hand, cocking a silver a brow at her. He lowered his arm with haste, nodding to the path that wound up the rock face. "C'mon. Let's get out of here. The sooner we find the Duchess, the sooner we can get your world put back together."

She stole a glance at Dante. Climbing up onto a ledge on the other side of the weeping girl statue, he was quick to turn around and offer his hand. "Have you crossed her path before?" Alice nodded then, hesitant as she stood upon a slimy, moss covered rock, the next step could be hit or miss, and if it were a miss… her head would roll in more ways than one. She shot out her hand at once, nearly hissing in pain when his calloused fingers wrapped around her, burning her even through the material of his glove.

A blush betrayed her, and once she was settled she pulled away from him with haste.

Alice dipped her head to brush her hands off on her apron. Her gaze focused on the next step needed. There was a creek that fed the statue its 'tears', Alice pointed to it. "Her home was in the Bayou, last I remember. Things have changed, but it will be worth a shot." Would the Duchess' death solve her problems? Alice had a sinking feeling it wouldn't even scratch the surface.

"She's a moody bitch. Ugly as all get out." She covered her flush with a stinging comment to the Duchess. "She blames me for the death of her child. The stupid bitch. She didn't realize all the pepper she used turned it into a piglet-"

A laugh escaped Dante's lips as he scratched at the stubble on his chin, shaking his head. "You turned her kid into a pig?!" Did he not hear her the first time?

Alice nodded, then shook her head vehemently, "I didn't! I swear it!"

He was still laughing, and what should have caused a burn in her stomach, brought a strange smile to her lips, her hands waving. "I stumbled into her kitchen when I was younger, when the Red Queen was demanding I play croquet with her. The stench was awful, way too much pepper, the baby kept sneezing. The Duchess said she was going to beat him if he continued. I went to save him and..." She gave a little snort, imitating the noise the piglet had given her. "It was an improvement. It was an ugly child. It made a cute pig however."

"One of my many crimes I'm accused of." She commented with a wistful smile, slender fingers working through her long raven locks. The creek was bubbling slightly. With every bubble that broke the survive, a child's innocent laughter was emitted. Alice could only stand the sound for a few tense moments before switching to the other side of Dante, eyes shut tightly.

And that crooked grin only grew wider, a finger-less gloved hand slapping down on his leg. His laughter boomed around her… And she could only stare on. Laughter. Not at her, but… With her? That was new. "That's great. You really are something, you know that Alice? You're a spitfire."

Funny, most would have called her a nutter. Doctor Bumby certainly did. Children, turning into piglets? Preposterous. Only a mad mind could devise again, Dante was a part of this world, so he was nothing more than a figment as well. His grin was still twisting her stomach. "Helping you might not be such a pain in the ass after all."

From then they walked, their conversation dying, and falling victim to the babbling brook, as it turned from bubbles to moans, to screams that were cut off far too soon. Alice winced with every one, and tried to ignore the way the pristine water stained to an inky black.

It was Dante who broke the awkward non-silence."So...the accent. British. Where were you from exactly before you came here?" His question pulled her out of her darkened thoughts, dark green eyes springing back to life. Usually it would be Chesh who would appear to distract her from her darker thoughts. But he would do.

"England. Bristol. At least... I was born in Bristol." Her eyes were clouded again. Bristol. That was where her home had been. But what of the Asylum? The good doctor and the other children spoke like her. But she seldom left her room. "I don't know where Rutledge is in comparison..." She paused for a moment, ducking her head low. It wasn't like it would be a shock to him that she was crazy. "It's an orphanage for mentally disturbed youth. In too posh of a neighbor to simply be called an Asylum. Where I'm kept...I was kept?" She wiggled her fingers. Every other time she was in Wonderland, her physical body never moved. This was no different then, right?

She coughed awkwardly. "And you?"

Dante frowned. She got the distinct feeling this was not a wise question to ask in return. Queer. Usually her figments of her imagination were overjoyed to explain themselves to her. "It's kind of a long story. My shop is set up in a shit hole of a city called Fortuna on the east coast of America. So, I guess in reality, we're only across the big pond from each other."

His eyes darkened noticeably, as did his tone. He slowed in his steps, turning to face her head on. "Orphanage...that can be rough. Especially when you're cooped up with the other cuckoos. It's just a way for them to keep us all in one spot so that they can sweep us under the rug and forget about us in one fell swoop."

"It's been...Seven years?" Longer still since then. But the days and years fell into the same holes in her mind. The flames had burned away the face of her internal time. Time didn't matter anymore.

There was no waiting for them to return.

Shaking her head, Alice continued on. "I was removed from the… Asylum. After two years. I was ten when… When it all started." It was just a dream, was it not? Wonderland was just a mental playground, a safe place to compile her thoughts and escape. At least, that was what the professionals had told her. "Doctor Bumby says I'm a bit of a lost cause… I should be better by now…" And instead, here she was, stuck in this realm.

The giggling bubbles had stopped and Alice noticed that the mud sucking at her boots was getting deeper. It was now halfway up to her knees, making the walk difficult. Dante had halted before her, putting his hand on her shoulder. Her neck hairs raised. "You're going to get stuck soon if this mud keeps getting deeper. Either we take a longer, more roundabout route to the Duchess's place or you hop on," he said, gesturing to his back with a thumb. "And...Seven years is a long time to spend in one place. It's enough to drive anyone mad. That doesn't make you a lost cause, Alice. This Dr. Bumby guy sounds like a royal dick to me."

Emeralds narrowed. "I could have been left to perish! I would have been a whore! He saved me... "

 _The past must be paid for, Alice._

She felt ill to her stomach. It would have been better to keep her lips sealed. What could this imaginary mercenary do? What could anyone in Wonderland do for her? It was her mind at fault here.

But she was keeping him waiting. She hated being carried. It wasn't so much the fact that she wanted to walk on her own, she knew this was a better option. If Gryphon was here she wouldn't hesitate to hop on his back. But a human? Touching her? Her experience with the matter was never pleasant. But she was already a hindrance to the waking world… Why must she continue that theme within her mind? Alice sighed and stepped closer to Dante, raising her arms slightly.

He adjusted the enormous sword braced against his back (and it was a wonder, how did he he walk with such ease with it holstered to his back like that?) before bending down, helping her to wrap her arms around his neck. When he felt like her grip was secure enough, he stood, reaching back to wrap his arms under her legs, behind her knees. Confident that she wouldn't slip, he started forward again.

"You said that you went to the Orphanage when you were ten, right? Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but I can't imagine you doing anything bad enough to deserve what you've gone through. You were just a kid. Kids make mistakes-they don't do things worth a lifetime of punishment."

Alice tried to remain silent, as if she could escape to yet another dimension inside her mind. Her light form was tense in his hold, and she struggled to keep her breath even. It wasn't like he was pinning her down or shoving needles into her arms or... Anything of the sort...

"I did." She muttered. She didn't want to think about it, she certainly didn't want to remember. How could she not? Every time the silence fell she remembered their screams, the roar of the fire. "I let them die."


	5. 5 Dante

A/N: Please review! I'm loving all the silent support I'm getting but how about some lovely feedback?!

* * *

 _I let them die._

Her words rolled around in his mind, the taste of them bitter on his tongue. He didn't know who 'they' were but he was positive of one thing. "You were a child. Children aren't responsible for the lives of others. It's simple. Someone is supposed to be responsible for you." At least, it was easy to justify that it was simple. He knew the realities of the world though. Nothing was simple, innocence was lost all too easily, and children were often the ones left shouldering the blame for the guilt of the world.

The subject was beginning to hit a little too close to home for him and he clenched his jaw, working to keep his grip on her firm but gentle. He could feel how every muscle of her body was squeezed tight, anxiety rolling off of her in waves. This was a girl who didn't care to be touched and, had he not been wearing gloves, had she not been wearing stockings, they'd be skin to skin. He had a feeling that much contact would freak her out—but she was giving him a chance. It was better than being slowed down by the mud. The creek was widening and deepening, much more like a river now. The water was still calm however and he could only surmise that they were getting close to the bayou. There was little to no tree cover here and the sky was getting darker as they walked. He wondered if time was even passing while he was here or if it simply didn't exist in this world.

"You don't know..."

Her voice broke the silence, quiet as it was. He hated to admit that she was right—he _didn't_ know. Not _her_ story, at least. He only knew from his own experiences what it was like. A kid with a dead family and what sounded like delusions? Yeah…he had an idea of how she had been treated. He'd been through it.

He could feel her gaze on his face before she curled up tighter against his back, her forehead ducking against his shoulder until they finally reached the Bayou. The sky above them had darkened, only the fireflies and the distance torches lighting up pieces of the large, out of place Victorian house casting beacons through the dark. The house, like everything else in Wonderland, seemed completely off kilter, unbefitting of the bog surrounding it. One could practically see the evil pouring from the windows and across the wide porch.

Alice was quick to leap out of Dante's arms, steadying herself among the reeds. "That would be the place. But we can't just knock..."

"Pssssst. Ova' 'ere."

Alice nearly leapt at the voice, spinning around, looking down to the three foot Toad in overalls, leaning against a fence post. Dante's reaction was a little more knee jerk as he spun, aiming Ebony and Ivory at the toad, his fingers poised over the triggers. Staring down the creature for a moment, he lowered his guns as his head gave a slight tilt. "Another friend of yours?" He asked Alice.

Alice parted her lips slightly, confusion etched on her features. Her emerald eyes were twinkling once again, nearly glowing in the dim lighting. She shrugged, but approached the toad all the same, keeping low in the reeds. "Do I know you?"

"Back in the ol' glory days, Love. It's Mcgill!"

Alice's brow wrinkled slightly, as if fighting to properly place the name. "Carpenter's apprentice?" She questioned, to which the toad nodded. Alice relaxed slightly. "This is Dante, he's..."

"New. 'ope you're not attached to this one. The Duchess will 'ave 'im once she spots 'im." Mcgill chuckled and plucked a cigarette from his overall pocket, and placed the cancerous stick between his... Lips? "You 'ave a light, Love?" Alice wrinkled her nose and cleared the way for Dante to approach him.

"I only have my wits, sorry."

Mcgill smirked. "Good to see you're still a spitfire, all things considered."

A crooked smile tipped Dante's lips as he stepped forward, bending to light the toad's cigarette. He wanted to pull one out for himself but, considering that he wasn't sure how long he'd be stuck here, his hand stilled over the pack. Better to save them for when he was feeling pretty desperate. Who knew the next time he'd be able to get a carton? Though, perhaps he could ask McGill where he had gotten _his_ cigarettes. They had to be available somewhere if the toad was smoking, right? "I regret to inform this Duchess that I'm not on her menu. We've got other plans for her," he added, glancing at Alice.

Looking back at the toad, he offered a cocky grin. "I like you. You're one of the first things around here that makes a lot of sense. What are you doing, hanging out around this crazy bitch's house?"

"Trying to figure out the best way to blow this shitter up." Mcgill said nonchalantly with an inhale of his cigarette. "Much appreciated. But you two best clear out. The fat bitch is in a right state. Put herself into 'ot water with the Red Queen 'erself. Wants her dead."

"Her _head_." Alice corrected immediately, robotically. Another programmed phrase it seemed.

"That too. Well, never mind. We'll all perish soon enough. Ain't that your line, Love?" Mcgill took in another drag and took a few steps closer to the house. Alice followed him, soon passing him and pressing herself against the side of the building. No lights, no windows on the east side of the building. A perfect place to brace themselves for a battle plan.

"Cantankerous cunt. Ruins my home; builds this monstrosity. She's mad as mash and just as tasteless," Mcgill chuckled. Turning to face Dante, the toad gave him the once over again.

That was all the time needed apparently.

The side of the house suddenly grew a side door, which flung open with such a force that it was no surprise Alice lost her balance against what used to be a wall and tumbled inside. The door quickly slammed shut and disappeared entirely with an eerie chuckle. Mcgill dropped his cigarette as well as his jaw. "Gluttonous Bitch!"

Dante watched as Alice disappeared from his view, unable to move quickly enough to stop her. His hands felt along the side of the house, looking for any crack or cranny that could signify where the door was. All hints however had disappeared—just as his companion had.

Looking down at Mcgill, he cracked his knuckles. "Well, that's my cue. See ya on the other side pal," he muttered. Heading towards the front of the house, his jaw set and his eyes narrowed, his face taking on the serious mask of a man settling down to business. Sneaking was great but it really wasn't his style, especially when something of his was taken away from him. Right now, Alice was his charge and he was none too happy about the fat bitch grabbing her from his side. He didn't like being made to feel inept when it came to his job. Lifting a boot covered foot, he kicked down the front door. His fingers tightened around Ebony and Ivory, ready for whatever would came at him.

What he hadn't been prepared for however was the stench. The house reeked, it's smell rolling at him in a wave that would have had weaker stomachs keeled over and vomiting. Wrinkling his nose, he continued deeper into the house's depths, trying to ignore the pungent odor. He'd dealt with cannibals before and he'd dealt with bitches before. Combining the two wouldn't be that different, right?

As he continued into her lair, he kept his eyes peeled for striped stockings and burning emerald eyes. He'd be damned if something happened to that girl on his watch. As he ran, he could hear a voice echoing down the halls.

It was followed by a cry of pain.

He picked up the pace and, the closer he got to the stench, the better he could hear the nasally tone. "Ooh, now that _is_ a pretty sound. Do continue while I…portion you. On a diet, you see."

He finally had reached the source of the stench, pushing open a door that led to what looked to be a kitchen. In the center, Alice was strapped to a chair with a disturbing looking woman leering over top of her. The woman's head was grotesquely large compared to the rest of her body and her skin sagged, held into what he supposed was meant to be the shape of an appealing figure by corseting. A grin split her face, showing off sharp, yellowed teeth as she brandished a butcher's knife. She used the blade to slowly bring Alice's skirt higher and higher, up to the apex of her thighs.

"Let's make the first chop here."

He could wait no longer to act. Seeing the flash of a blade so close to Alice's flesh had him moving on instinct. Firing Ivory, her bullet slammed into the blade and sent it flying from the Duchess's hand and across the room where it skidded across the floor. "You're an ugly one," he commented. "I've seen a lot in my time but you've gotta top my list of nasties."

The Duchess recoiled from his attack and, one glance down at Alice showed that her eyes were wide with terror. She struggled against the straps that bound her, obviously not giving up on her freedom easily. Though he barely had time for the thought, he respected her for the struggle—it meant she wasn't entirely mad.

The Duchess returned to the table, using it as a barrier between Dante and herself. Her bony fingers clamped over Alice's mouth, muffling her cries for help as her body thrashed on the table.

 **"My, My... With proper seasoning wouldn't you make a handsome dish."** The Duchess grinned as she reached under the table to produce a new weapon for herself.

A pepper grinder. Because what else would she have in a kitchen. Her grip tightened on Alice's head, slamming it into the table with enough force to render the girl unconscious. Now both her hands were free to operate the pepper grinder, which shot bullets of peppercorns.

At least she was creative. The Hunter had to give her that.

"Son of a bitch," he muttered, running to dodge her peppercorn attack. Sure his body could regenerate and take a large amount of damage but he still preferred the version of his life where he didn't have to constantly heal himself. Keeping Ebony and Ivory trained on the fat bitch, he smirked. "I don't think you have enough seasoning in your arsenal to make me a tasty treat, hag. I wouldn't mind practicing my knife skills on _your_ flesh however."

He maneuvered them around the room, working her in a path until he had Alice's unconscious form behind him and the gluttonous monster in front of him. Protecting Alice came first, destroying the Duchess came second. He wasn't going to trade one life for the other.

His opponents yellowed teeth grinned at him in a maniacal smile and he exchanged his guns for Rebellion. "Let's get this over with, bitch."

The Duchess huffed, large eyes glancing around the room for a better weapon. Her pepper grinder would do little against a blade of that magnitude. Despite being in a kitchen, it was rather bare, save for the boiling pot in the fireplace and the table with the unconscious girl. The demonic woman hissed and cranked on the pepper mill again, quite literally peppering the room with her seasoned ammo in a desperate attempt to regain the upper hand.

Pity for her however that her aim was shit. **"Aa-choo!"** It seemed Alice was right about the pepper deal. The grotesque woman had herself in a sneezing fit, the smell of the pepper tickling her nose. Her ridiculously little hands uselessly wiped at her bizarrely large nose before tossing the grinder to the side. Glancing up at the Hunter, she found that they'd both moved yet again and he was positioned in a far worse spot. The fireplace was now directly behind him, leaving him open for attack. Grinning, she picked up her skirts and let out a snarl as she charged straight for him.

Taking a couple of steps backwards, Dante could feel the heat of the fireplace at his back and knew he was in a bad position. He only had one option for escaping the charging bull of a beast after him. She was too big for him to leap to either of his sides which left him a single method of escape. At the last possible second, he dropped Rebellion and leapt into the air, his hands grasping for a hold on anything, praying that they would find purchase in _something_. He heaved a sigh of gratitude as they found a pipe and wrapped tight around it's metallic surface, his legs lifting to allow the monstrous woman to pass.

Underneath him, the Duchess had built up enough momentum that she was unable to stop herself from tumbling into the fireplace. Her skirts, thick and heavy with grease and blood, caught fire quickly and the scent of burning flesh soon wafted into the air. In a desperate attempt to save herself, she grabbed the edge of Dante's coat and tried to drag him down into the fire with her.

Dropped from the pipe, he shoved her into the fireplace with his foot while he bent to pick up his discarded sword. Her hand still clutched his coat and he sliced it cleanly at the wrist, freeing himself from her grasp. Her shrieks were shrill and piercing as she burned up in the fire, her flesh melting from her bones.

When her screams finally died with the rest of her, Dante took inventory of himself. His boot was slightly burnt but he was much angrier about the singed edge of his red trench coat. "Disgusting cunt," he spit before returning to the table with Alice on it.

Carefully, he cut her wrists and her ankles free. "C'mon sweetheart..wake up for me."


	6. 6 Alice

A/N:Sorry for the week delay! Things are getting le crazy on my end. Family issues and the like, So going forward updates may be on a biweekly schedule-Just a heads up!

And remember dears, leave us some lovely, nasty, or just plain flirty comments. Any and all feedback is appreciated!

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 _"Run Alice!"_

 _"Get out Alice!"_

Her head was pounding with pain, throbbing and pulsing in time with the beats of her heart. Her body was at odds as to how else to feel. Was she heavy? She felt as if the world sat upon her chest, pushing down on her lungs, holding her by her arms. Yet, there was lightness. As if, were the weight of the world not seated upon her chest, she would simply float away, not unlike a helium filled balloon. The conflicting feeling did little for her head.

Nor did the smell of smoke.

 _"Alice!"_ Where was she? And where were they? She was trying to find them. They had to be close, she could hear them so clearly! Screaming, crying out for her, hissing as the heat grew around her… but she saw nothing but darkness. It had to be the smoke, it had to be cloaking her vision. She could wipe it away… If only she could raise her arm. Their shrieks were so loud, a cacophonous sound in her ear… But her body could do no more to reach them. She felt her fingers twitch, her knees ached from how she lay upon… Something. It was no wonder that Wonderland had fallen into such a state, its Champion lay in ruins herself.

Her mind was slowly pulling itself out of the haze, still humming from the force of the hit. Walking would prove to be an issue no doubt. But she would have to get through her other senses first.

The smell of the fire reached her first. Something singed, something metallic. That smell of hot, rusted pennies that curled like fingers along her throat, smothering the air from her lungs.

 _"Alice, What have you done?!"_

Horrified green eyes flashed open, her body practically leaping off the table, before she could even realize it was there. A leg slipped off the side, her fingers fumbling for leverage, something to launch her into action. The fire, it was all around her, but she heard them. She could hear them, and she could save them this time! She wouldn't use the window! She had to get them first. All she had to do was get them…

"Mother! Father!...Lizzie..." Her hand grasped at nothing. Her hand barely visible in front of her face, the blurry digits left fumbling in the air. The tears were already cutting down her cheeks as she felt herself slip from the the hard surface beneath her, her legs a twisted mess as she crumpled down beside the table.

For all her blurry vision, the sobs racking her chest, all she could see was red. Splotches stained the walls like flames, the ground beneath her scorched black. Her fingers traced along the grungy tiles beneath her, soot smearing off on her fingers and… Was that ground pepper? The seasoning was thick in the air, tickling at her nostrils. She heard a vague commotion, a shadow cast itself into the room. Mcgill stumbled in seconds later, quickly assuming what had transpired. "Well. Soup's on."

Soup? Alice stared at the blurry blackness beneath her. There was fire in the corner, just beyond her field of vision. She could hear the crackling, she could smell the flames. Someone was scoffing."If you consider eating that, you are one sick fuck."

"Father…?"

Another voice sprung up instead, the cockney accident grating to her ears."I'm 'alf tempted to. Eye for an eye and all that."Mcgill chuckled, tentatively stepping into the room. If he had a proper nose, it would be wrinkled at the stench. " I'll 'ave to blow it sky 'igh. No way to paint over the smell."

A figure, who was not her father, knelt alongside her, red coat slumping, brushing against her fingers. Alice felt the smell of smoke and...Something more. A sickening smell that was one part charcoal, one part acetic, so strong that it was almost a taste in her mouth. She cringed away from the smell, and the body it belonged to. "Hey, you're okay. She didn't get you. That disgusting smell in the air is all that remains of the corpulent bitch, Alice."

The bitch? A cruel word for her mother, a crueler word for her dear Lizzie...Oh her dear Lizzie. How could she fail her own sister. Her room was so close…

 _"Help me Alice!"_

Before the memory could pull her under, she heard the telltale ticking of familiar clockwork. Her porcelain bunny was back in her grip, trembling much like its owner. Her fingers clung to it all the tighter. It was real. In the depths of her madness, this rabbit was real. A figure crossed the room to place a three finger hand grasped at her shoulder.

"Come now Love, all is well now. The 'ag is dead." That was Mcgill...She remembered Mcgill. He was there… he was there before.. Before the darkness closed in. She heard Mcgill sigh, his fingers releasing her shoulder "It's the fire what's doing it. Can you clear 'er out of 'ere?"

The red clad figure nodded, and her mind pulled itself itself out a little bit further from the darkness. Dante. Dante was here? Didn't he have Wonderland to save? She blinked her eyes, wishing she had the strength to pry her hands from her rabbit to wipe at the tears stinging her eyes. Squinting, she witnessed him dig into his coat pocket. Pulling out his lighter, he offered it to the creature. "I've got an extra. Figure you could use this. Wait to light up until we've left."

Mcgill muttered some sort of show of gratitude, pocketing the lighter as Dante shifted. Sliding his coat from his shoulders, he wrapped it around her frail form. His hands smelled that same invasive smell, and it only served to have her bones shaking like a leaf. Bundling her up, he picked her up, cradling her legs and her back as he held her to his chest.

"See ya later Mcgill. Thanks," She felt him nod.

Alice remained in her silent hell, as Dante trekked their way back through the remains barely aware of Dante's presence. Just aware of movement. Away from the crackling of wood, the smell of smoke, and flickering reds and oranges. Her breath slowly returned to a normal pace, though a soft cough would escape her every now and then as the Bayou gave way to a..

Gods, where were they now?

The oranges and reds and the smeared blacks faded to greys and metallics blues, and the smell of charcoal and pepper faded to the scent of wet grass and rainfall. There was a gentle lapping as the brook expanded itself before them.

 _Dreary lake._ Her mind wearily answered.

Alice clung to that thread. Madness or not, she knew this location, It wasn't on fire. It was water. Water wasn't on fire. It was impossible, even for Wonderland. She was by a lake, and it was safe, because a lake couldn't catch on fire. She used to be so fond of lakes, her Lizzie simply adored them. She always put them by the Thames when it was time for her reading lessons.

Though her lessons never came with so many anthills...And a bored Cheshire cat batting at one from the safety of a rock.

"Is our situation not dismal? Wonderland is so discombobulated that even ants have turned belligerent and enlisted in the Red Queen's army." The Cheshire cat looked to Dante, then gaze fell to his arms, where she struggled for the courage to meet his gaze dead on, his expression softening."There's a familiar sight. Did discussions with the Duchess go as planned?"

He was being gentle. Maybe he didn't hate her this time. "A-Army?"

"This is a war, is it not?"

Dante shrugged, her body swaying softly in his arms."Duchess and I disagreed on how we liked our food prepared. She preferred hers alive-I preferred her dead." Alice felt herself smile. A lingering thought wondered if it was even visible upon her lips. It tugged at that lifeline further. That was funny. Dante was… Funny, she supposed. He had some wit about him… Better than herself. Maybe he could truly save her Wonderland...

Dante walked them over to the grinning cat, and she looked down at the decimated anthills. The query was clear in his tone. "Who's this Queen you're talkin' about?"

"Do you have the strength to explain, Alice?" Chesh was no longer bantering with her, instead cooing to her, with a queer gentleness in his voice that was usually absent. It made her feel no longer like the tormented nineteen year old she was supposed to be. More like she were a lost child, being carried out of the woods.

It served as another tug. And next Alice expelled a heavy breath, it felt as if that weight had finally shifted. The blurry edges of her reality began to firm and crisp up. Alice chewed on her bottom lip, glancing down to the ants as well. She pressed closer to Dante, if only to gain her strength to stand on her own two feet again. The rabbit ticked away. "She's worse than Duchess…" Because that's who it had been. Not home… Not then, not _them,_ It was just Duchess and her spices and her foul appetite. "Makes her look like a butterfly."

"And equally easy to squash as it seems." Chesh batted at the anthill, until the hole was exposed. Alice cringed wobbling upon her feet as they found purchase in the ground beneath her. Dante kept his hand upon her back, placed between her shoulder blades as a brace. His palm was burning hot, she could feel its heat through the foreign coat- _his coat_. She must have looked a terrible sight. She was so petite that his coat was dragging on the ground and could probably wrap around her twice more!

Just keep talking. Talking was helping. Even though her throat and lung burned for the effort."She owned Wonderland before... Before I first came here. I was..I was just little...But I ruined everything for her." She forced herself to suck in another deep breath then, and held it. Until her lungs stung for the effort, and then expelled it once again. Clarity was trickling in, slowly but surely. "I dethroned her once. But it seems in my absence she's taken over again."

"And still crying out for your head. Except now she's building an army to do it." Cheshire punctuated his sentences with vicious bats to the anthills, his claws tearing through Earth, and slashing at ants as they appeared. "She won't underestimate you again."

Dante spoke then,"If she's building an army, it seems that you might want to do the same Alice. If Wonderland is yours, you need to take it back from her. What kind of army has she got Chesh? If it's built entirely of ants, I'm not too worried."

Alice found herself toying with the lapel of the coat, shifting the rabbit in her arms. It was such a childish comfort. Back in the real world she had some battered stuffed rabbit she would often cling to instead. Somehow, despite the lack of stuffing, the ticking was an added comfort.

"I lack the list. That would be Caterpillar's domain. Luckily for you his land is not too far away..." Alice chewed on her lip, leaned over slightly to glance down the ant hole. It was a long way to Caterpillars. And ironically, the larger they were, the longer the journey would take.

Her weary mind whirled. If only they could get smaller..

"But we're the wrong size... Aren't we?" Cheshire did nod, and vaguely gestured down the hole. Alice was silent for a spell, playing with the ears of the rabbit. "Don't happen to know where I can find a shrinking potion do you?" Chesh shifted, stretching out his skeletal body atop his perch. His tail curling like smoke upon the water flicking it up with a grand flourish to reveal a slender bottle now perched alongside him filled with blue liquid. 'Drink me' was inscribed along the face of it.

"Luckily for you, I deliver."


	7. 7 Dante

A/N: Jeez, Has it been forever or what, Sorry about that! Life got crazy on my end. Family illnesses and all that fun whatnot. Hopefully I got a grasp on it now and can return to my usual schedule. Thank you in advance for your patience. Don't forget to leave me some lovely comments~ Also rapid fire question, should I change the category this story is in. Technically it is an Alice crossover fan fiction, but I wasn't sure where the audience was larger. What do you all think? Leave a review, I'd love to hear your opinion

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Dante stared down at the little vial, shaking his head. "Aw hell...I'm not getting paid enough for this." He swore that the cat's grin grew at his statement. He'd seen plenty of evil in his time but nothing seemed worse to him in that moment than the little bottle begging for someone to wrap their lips around the rim. It wasn't that he was opposed to drinking—he enjoyed the bottom of a bottle as much as any other guy. It was more the fact that this was Wonderland. He'd just witnessed the damage a peppercorn could do. He wasn't eager to learn about the damage of the beverages here.

With a deep sigh, he bent over and picked up the bottle. Holding it out for Alice, he wrinkled his nose slightly. "Ladies first sweetheart." Perhaps not the bravest of moves but he was no fool. He was the outsider amongst them. If Alice drank first, he'd know it wasn't poisoned.

Not that putting his money on the girl everyone thought to be insane was all that bright either.

However, it was all worth it for what happened next. It was small but, with a gentle upturn of her lips, Alice offered him a smile. It was followed by a soft chuckle, the sound like a melody as she took the bottle from his outstretched hand, her green eyes meeting his briefly. Cheshire tilted his head slightly, his manic grin dissolving into a more genuinely pleased smile.

"It tastes like sweets, if you're concerned." She offered as consolation or perhaps, as comfort, trying to make him feel better about ingesting something entirely foreign. Bringing the bottle to her lips, she flicked her head back to consume half the contents before handing it off to her partner.

"Head through the colony, Caterpillar's realm should be somewhere down there. You know what to look for," Cheshire instructed. Alice nodded, before hiccups over took her thin body. She grasped at her chest, wincing with the first one. By the second, she fell to her knees. And with the third, she vanished from sight. "Do mind your step not to trod on her." Cheshire warned Dante, before vanishing himself.

Watching Alice shrink, Dante blew out a deep breath. Looking into the bottle at the liquid it contained, he tried to keep in mind what Alice had said. "Sweets. Right. Bottoms up," he muttered before tossing back the rest of it like a shot.

At first, he was certain that it hadn't worked. There were a great many things that didn't work on him. Shots, stitches, tattoos—the list went on and on. He wouldn't be surprised if he grew instead of shrunk with how opposite his body was. Though, how terrifying would he be if he grew above his near seven foot stature?

His thoughts were quickly interrupted when the first hiccup escaped his chest. He understood the wincing now—it felt as if his very ribs were shifting. On second thought, he realized that was precisely what they were doing. All of the bones in his body were shifting and soon, he had to fight the urge to fall to his knees as Alice had out of fear that he would crush her should he fall. By the third hiccup, he was feeling much better and much, much smaller. Alice stood before him and the grass around them was well above his head. Looking at his partner, he grimaced. "That was...unsettling, at best. Ready?"

"It's worse when we have to grow up," she retorted, blinking at the obvious double meaning in her words. Lifting her emerald eyes, she looked over the blades of grass before continuing.

"Just... need to go down into an ant hole. We'll have to find a teapot. Probably through the mountain with our luck."

Yes, because those instructions made a lot of sense. However, Dante was quickly learning that nothing in this world made sense and it was best to just roll with it. He had to wonder though—was this what Fortuna seemed like to normal humans? A jumble of creatures that didn't seem to follow rhyme or reason?

He watched as Alice brushed her hair out of her face and to one side, running her fingers through it like the nervous girl she was as she made wary steps towards the ant hill. It had been utterly destroyed by Cheshire's slashing claws. Bodies of soldier ants lay scattered around them. He hadn't just been destroying something at random. He had been clearing them a path.

"Mangy cat. I don't know what I'd do without him," she whispered.

Dante followed Alice as she tracked along the path Cheshire had made, marveling at the bodies of the ants around them. He'd never really given much thought to the tiny creatures, except to think of them as a nuisance. Now, he would never look at them the same way again.

Perhaps that was because these ants were wearing helmets and carrying weapons when they were killed. He wondered if the ants in Fortuna looked the same, upon further inspection. It was something to look into, if he ever returned home.

"So...this Queen. Is she our size? I mean, our normal size? Or is she...miniature?" He asked, following after his companion, smiling at the way she traversed the land. A gentle push of a blade of grass here, a hop over a seed there, her nose wrinkling the entire time as if she were displeased. He wondered if she disliked being this small. She was already plenty tiny—perhaps it wasn't any fun for her to have grown smaller.

When they got up to the hole in the anthill, she sat down and swung her legs over the edge before answering his question.

"I...don't truly remember. I've grown and shrunk so much here that I hardly remember what size is real anymore. Either way, small or not the size of her trouble is all encompassing." Tucking her blade away, she leaned over the hole and seemed to be bracing herself, gathering up the courage to drop her body down. She stilled however, shifting her gaze to Dante.

"B-Back there." Alice cleared her throat. "You saved my life. Thank you..." Even though the girl seldom seemed to care whether she lived or died, at least she was grateful for the effort.

Coming to sit on the edge of the anthill with her, he shrugged, as if saving her life was nothing. "Don't worry about it. I'm not going to let you die Alice. No matter what you put me through while I am here, you're not going to die while you're with me." He swung his legs into the hole, stealing a glance down at his burnt boot. "Besides, I really didn't like the look of you on that table. Quartered for a pig of woman-it just doesn't suit you."

Looking down into the hole, he got ready to slide through. "Let's do this," he said with a grin before dropping down. His knees felt the impact as he landed and looked back up, waiting for Alice to drop down to his level. She dropped down soon after he did, landing gracefully on her feet.

"The sooner we get out of here, the better," the girl murmured, her face illuminated by mushrooms that dotted their path. The light was eerie, a bizarre yellowish-green that made her pale skin glow an unhealthy color.

"I couldn't agree more," Dante muttered, his hands resting against the grips of Ebony and Ivory. He felt comfortable in dark spaces but the mushrooms were a little off putting. His blue eyes nearly glowed in the dark, the demon blood in his veins kicking in to adjust his sight to his new surroundings. "Let's find this caterpillar, learn about the Queen's army, and get the hell out of here."

As they walked, Alice sank her blade into a nearby mushroom, cutting off a chunk and carrying it in her hand like a makeshift flashlight. The light didn't travel far but it was better than nothing. As they wandered the twists and turns of the path, she suddenly stopped, pointing ahead at something in the dark. "There's Rabbit! He said he was off to see Caterpillar! Rabbit, Rabbit!" She called, giving chase. "RABBIT!"

The tunnel shuddered as she all but screamed the name. Something fell behind them, and there was a distinct sound of something rolling ever closer. Alice paled in the odd light, a look of terror washing over her face. "Oh bloody hell."

Hearing Alice's curse, he looked over his shoulder but knew that standing there and waiting wasn't exactly the best option. It didn't matter what was coming after them—what mattered more was getting away from it!

Scooping Alice up into his arms, he ran off in the direction Rabbit had gone. "Help me keep an eye out for that little bastard! I'll try to keep us ahead of whatever that is."

"Meep," was Alice's only reply as she shifted in his arms to look over his shoulder. "Oh me and my blood gob," she muttered, giving him no indication of what was chasing after them. Rabbit seemed to know though as he had doubled his speed from earlier, pushing farther and farther ahead of the both of them.

"Alice? What's behind us?" He asked, increasing his speed so that he was running as fast as he could. Daring a glance over his other shoulder, he spotted what she'd seen. Mud was pouring down the walls, falling faster and faster towards the rest of them, coming in the form of a large glob of a wave. He knew Alice wasn't the type to be afraid of a little mud on her dress so it was easy to come to the real conclusion.

The tunnel was collapsing around them.

"Oh, you've gotta be shitting me!" He knew that there was absolutely no way he could outrun that mud in this form. It was picking up speed, the whole system falling down around them far faster than he could possibly outrun. He'd really been hoping to avoid this particular maneuver but it seemed to be his only choice.

"Hold tight," he warned the girl in his arms. In the dark of the tunnels, he felt safe allowing his demonic blood to take over. Black skin replaced what had previously merely been kissed by the sun. Red eyes flashed where warm sapphires had been. And his speed? Well, that quadrupled in a heartbeat, easily catching him up to Rabbit in the blink of an eye.

Of course, when Rabbit turned to look behind him, all he saw was a near seven foot demon giving chase with a girl crumpled against his chest and the entirety of the tunnel collapsing behind him. He let out a little yelp of fear and tried to push his own speed, eager to escape the terror following him. Luckily for all of them he had the map of these tunnels memorized. Even as horrified as he was, he knew where to turn and which quick turns would lead them further down the proper path.

Just when Dante thought he could catch Rabbit, the creature dove down a hidden tunnel with a slide that catapulted the lot of them outside. They landed in a land vastly different from the marsh where they had entered. This was a red wasteland, from the Earth up to the sky. Alice was flung from Dante's grip by the force of their landing and slid through the red dirt until her momentum finally ran out.

"Rabbit!" Her voice halted him, turning around to face the two.

"W-what-huh?!" He blinked, and then pointed his paw at Dante. "What in the devils has happened to you?!"

"Accurate choice of words," the Hunter grunted. With a shudder, he allowed the transformation to fall away until he was back in his natural form, his skin tanned but no where near as dark as it had been, and his eyes cerulean once more. Transforming had zapped some of his energy and he found himself breathing heavily, something he very rarely did. Sweat dripped from his temples as he ambled over to his companion and offered her a lift to her feet. She pulled away at once, her eyes drifting over him with a touch of fear reflected in the depths of those shining emeralds. Her hand held her blade ready, as if she expected him to attack. However, Rabbit was quick to interrupt the awkward silence that had fallen between them.

"Oh Alice, it isn't as if that is the weirdest thing you've seen all day. I'm over it now," he informed Dante, tapping his foot on the ground. "It was a shock to see you barreling after me though, a simple calling would have sufficed."

Alice still did not budge, emerald orbs searching cerulean ones, as if she would find the real answer behind his eyes. Dante was used to it—he just had been hoping to hide it from her.

Rabbit sighed. "Come now. When those demons had run you through with their teeth I recall you turning a different color as well. Stab her, if you don't believe me. You two are of similar makes I'm sure," he murmured to Dante, sounding entirely impatient and over the matter.

Rabbit's words bolstered the Hunter, making him more and more sure that he had been right to pull his trigger at that moment. The majority of people who saw that form didn't live to speak of it and the few people he had cared about in his lifetime didn't have to know about it.

He wasn't really sure if he wanted Alice in either of those categories.

Slowly, he raised his hands to the side, showing that he wasn't touching any of his weapons. He spread his fingers wide so that she could see the details of his fingerless gloves, could see that he aimed to be the least threatening he possibly could be. She was wearing his coat so the majority of his weapons were open for anyone to view. He was raising a symbolic white flag, his eyes never leaving hers. Those emerald eyes that held so much fear and yet, so much tenacity. She was broken but she wouldn't go down without a fight and he could see those embers of life growing stronger.

"I have no intention of harming you Alice. I told you when we shrunk...I'm not going to let you die. I'm going to protect you. That's what I felt it took in that moment. If what Rabbit is saying is true, that we are similar, feel free to do your worst. Shove your blade through me, shoot me with my own guns, stick that ticking rabbit of yours in my gut. I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying right here to help you get Wonderland back."

"Caterpillar's place is tucked just beyond that tree," Rabbit interrupted. As always, he was ever pressed for time. Seemingly, he was the one creature in Wonderland to realize time was short. While Alice and Dante had their stand off, he began to dart across the red dust, moving through dried reeds and into the open space. Alice did little else but stare at Dante, mouth opening and shutting uselessly.

Then the ground shook violently. Rhythmically. Given their size, it could have been anything. But it made itself known, a great shadow falling over all of them. Another tremor had Alice tumbling back onto her backside, finally breaking her eye contact with Dante to look up at the source of the shadow. A man in a tailored suit and top hat stood as tall as a mountain before them. But he paid no mind, walking through the red valley...Which in proper scale was just a simple bit of flattened trail.

Rabbit was toppled by the force as well. A misstep had him sprawled out on the ground. Barely halfway across the wasteland, the last thing he would see was the shadow of a shoe before he was crushed.

Any attempt to scream on the creature's part had been cut short, but it was continued by Alice. And the giant simply moved on, oblivious to the entire murder. "R-RABBIT!"

Dante stood frozen, staring at the grotesque scene, his eyes moving to watch the giant man stroll away. His top hat was huge, even in comparison to what was surely a standard size human and it sat off-kilter on his head. When the suited man was out of sight, he turned his gaze back to the spot where Rabbit's remains lay on the dusty red ground, his blood clumping the bits of red earth around him.

Taking a step towards the deceased creature and Alice, he spoke softly. "Alice...we have to go. Rabbit was right. We need to get moving."

The young girl slowly stood up and crossed the empty plane, her feet aimed towards her friend. No tears stained her cheeks, despite the terror written clearly upon her face. Her blade shuddered into the form of her rabbit for a brief moment, as if to comfort her. She dropped the weapon however and darted away from it as if it had burned her hand. Her thin form was trembling and still, she struggled to form the words. Her mouth was simply agape, as if stuck silently screaming.

Reaching Rabbit's side, she fell for a third time upon the tundra. Her hand tentatively reached out and stroked a flattened ear.

"I...I'm cursed." She muttered without emotion, though her pain and grief were clear in her eyes. "Everything I love dies violently...unnaturally. Why did I think I could do this, I'll only hurt others..."

Pushing a hand through his silvered hair, Dante stared down at the girl, unsure of what to do for her. He'd never been a very comforting person and he was terrible when it came to tears. Maybe that's why he could deal with Alice...she wasn't actually crying. She was upset but even when she had cried, it wasn't the kind of blubbering he was used to out of the female half of the race. It was silent and cleansing.

Carefully, nervous that the thing would shock him, he picked up her rabbit and kneeling next to her, resting his forearms on his knees. "Alice, that was in no way your fault. Rabbit was here of his own accord. Just as that man was passing through of his own volition. You had nothing to do with either instance. It's a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Standing, he looked down at Rabbit's remains one more time before scanning the horizon. "If you really want to honor your friend, then you will take his last words wisely. He said we had to hurry and find the Caterpillar. He wanted us to get going. We need to finish this mission and take back Wonderland. For you, for your friends. For Rabbit."


	8. 8 Alice

A/N: Guess I can't get on a schedule! Life hates me! Haha, Things have been more than crazy around here. But Lt's hope I get a bit better about posting on time! Don't forget to review!

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Rabbit was dead.

His body lay bloody before her, limbs mangled and flattened, blood seeping through the Earth. Clothes trampled with dirt, imprinted with the sole patterns of the careless foot that had galumphed through the valley. This was why she walked with care through gardens and grassy area back home. Those thoughtless steps… What was a mere stroll for them, could be devastating for those below.

 _"Oh I'm late, I'm late!"_

 _"Alice, Alice we're late for tea."_

"Rabbit…" It wasn't real. None of this was real. It was just a horrible dream... It was just his clothes! It couldn't be Rabbit. Her friend. her dear, dear friend. Her Rabbit. Her fingers shook as she extended her reach to the fallen creature-so foreign to her. Her Rabbit didn't look like this. He was full of life and always a twitching mess. His face didn't know how to be this still...His bones were never that flat, and his nose...

"Rabbit...Rabbit get up… You're going to be late…" Her fingers brushed at his lapel, uncaring that they came back slick with blood, she tugged on the collar gently. "Rabbit… It's time for tea…" She needed his watch. Rabbit needed his watch! Then he could see, he could see that it was late, and he would inflate himself, brush off all the blood, and start on his frantic journey again.

But the mangled body before her remained still.

"It's all my fault." She heard a muffled mumbling behind her. But it was outside her realm of comprehension. She knew Dante was there, but she repeated the phrase several times under her breath regardless. She could scarce look at him, but didn't flinch away when his presence approached her further.

He couldn't be gone. But he was. It wasn't real… But it was.

"It's my fault Wonderland is like this. I let it get this way. This business should have been put to rest. I should have been doing this two years ago. But I just sat idle." Her vision blurred further, but she did not feel the few tears that escaped her.

And so doing the same would spare the others?

Alice nodded compliantly, uncertain if the words had been spoken, or if it just been all in her head. A funny thing, really, wasn't this all supposed to be in her head. Wonderland… It was just a dream. Just like in Rutledge. When she had tea with Rabbit down the river Thames, and his head blew off.

It was just a dream.

None of this was real.

It was with that notion that Alice numbly pulled herself to her feet. Her broken gaze met her companion briefly, enough to catch the pity in his gaze before hanging her head. She made no move for her clockwork rabbit, not even to regain her blade. Dante was their new champion now. She was no better than...Her . "Rabbit said Caterpillar was just beyond the tree. We should get there before nightfall."

He nodded, silently leading her towards the tree she'd gestured to. Her rabbit dangled idly from his fingertips and he kept it in the hand closest to her so that she could grab it at any time if she wished. Her hand brushed along her rabbit once or twice, recoiling each time. A thing of comfort, now she was scared to touch it. She killed him, she was certain of it. This mess could have been over with if she hadn't dawdled, if she didn't cause the tunnel to collapse, if she didn't stand there trying to will herself to hate Dante. But... She found herself thankful for the small kindness, whatever it meant. What did he think of her? Walking away from the fallen body of her friend? A fool? A monster? A mad bitch? Did he think her emotionless, or did he note that those burning embers in her eyes had died a little with Rabbit.

It didn't matter. He was the key to making it all fit together now . She just hoped that the Caterpillar would be useful to them.

As they walked, she vaguely noticed that Dante's steps were slower than before, falling in time with her, even though it lengthened their journey across what was a narrow pathway to anyone of normal size. "So, time does pass in Wonderland. You said we'd get to Caterpillar before nightfall." He paused then, as if mulling over his words, or maybe ensuring she was listening. She lifted her head weakly, and met his gaze dead on. "Do you sleep while you're here, Alice?"

Alice rubbed at her eyes. Unsure if they were itchy from the smoke earlier or just trying to rid herself of the tears.

Wonderland was getting the champion it deserved. She had to be happy. He could save them. He was strong, he didn't care. All she caused was death and suffering...

"Some days last longer than others. But it's equal to time in the real world." At least, that had been how it worked in the past. Days spent in Wonderland, and she would awaken to find herself in the garden once more, Lizzie rolling her eyes down at her.

 _"There you are Alice, back from Wonderland? How's the Queen?"_

Pain filled her heart, Her fingers slowly working through her silken locks. Her gaze was downcast, only focused on the next step she had to take, as if each one was a struggle. "I cannot sleep, but I grow exhausted, I cannot eat, yet I am starving. No different than the Asylum... No food for naughty patients."

He didn't look at her this time, his gaze was straight forward… But his jaw tightened. She had upset him. No surprised. "Well, with me things are going to be different. You don't have to sleep but we are going to rest. If we're going to be fighting a war, I won't have you doing it exhausted. I don't know what is edible in Wonderland but we'll find something. You need to eat so that you can be strong and fight the Queen. You aren't a patient here, Alice. You're a Princess and a Warrior. It's time we took care of you like one."

Alice nodded, but she didn't take the words to heart. It didn't matter what she did now. The damage was done. If Wonderland needed her to do it alone they would have pushed her harder, they wouldn't have let her piss around like she did. But no, they found him instead. Like Rabbit said, they were of the same make. Perhaps he was close enough to being like her to do the trick. They were nearing the tree and Alice could catch a whiff of sweet smelling smoke on the wind. If she were in any better spirits, she would roll her eyes at the sweet, spiced smoke drifting through the air. Familiar, but nothing like the scent of burning word and charred bodies. Over the horizon, she could just barely catch a glimpse of smoke rings rising up into the sky where they dissipated. Vague letters spreading through the sky.. But her mind hadn't the strength to string them together to decode the words.

Alice forced herself over a tree root, finding herself at the source of the smoke. A giant teapot. Well, normal sized, if they weren't so shrunk down. Green and Chinese in style, the sweet smoke came bellowing out of the cast iron spout in short bursts. It just so happened the spout was rather close to the root. Just enough that if Alice jumped with enough force she could tumble down into the depths of it.

She craved her rabbit, but wrapped her arms around herself instead. She didn't deserve comforts. Wonderland had its second champion. She had to make sure he survived. "Inside that I suppose. At least we'll be protected."

Dante's steps faltered behind her, a soft groan emitted from him. Muttering under his breath, he came to stand on the root behind Alice. "What happens in Wonderland, stays in Wonderland." He moved in front of her then, and she noted the reluctance in his eyes. But his finger less gloves laced together regardless, crouching down at the knee. "Up you go, sweetheart."

She obeyed.

The world inside the teapot was vastly different than the exterior. Alice wasn't sure why she had expected it to match. This was Wonderland. It never did. Water ran beneath her feet underneath bamboo platforms, a sweet perfumed smell. Of course. The water was tea. The rock formations were littered with oriental structures. Caterpillar would be perched in a temple no doubt. Smoking greedily from his hookah.

Alice took a few steps, just enough to hop onto the wooden path, glancing around at what should have been the walls of the tea pot. No such walls. Only a grey mix of clouds, and kanji raining from the sky.

"Better than I hoped." Alice slumped against the archway, waiting for Dante to join her, after his own tumble through the spout. They were most certainly safe in here. It figured. Caterpillar held all the answers to Wonderland. He had to be heavily guarded.

Her gaze traveled around at the structures surrounding them, as she took hesitant steps along the bamboo docks, the reeds chiming like deer scares around them. "So...Caterpillar seems like a ritzy guy, eh? I mean...no one else seemed to have digs like this. He takes better care of his place than Duchess did." He had turned into a chatterbox again.

But he deserved to have all the answers he sought. Goodness knows, he deserved to be better educated than her. "He's an Oracle. The only creature in Wonderland who would know what it is we have to do to save it. He ran the rebellion when I first came into Wonderland." Alice chuckled, but it was a hollow, empty sound." It had seemed easier then, even though I was only a child...I was six when Wonderland first called for me." A six year old defender. No wonder Wonderland was in such a shit state now.

Smoke rings poured out of a temple at the top of the hill. Alice shuddered and hung her head again. Caterpillar will not be pleased to see her, not so late in the game.  
Dante paused then, his large body turning so that it blocked her path. Her feet stopped obediently, before she could stumble into him. His large hand covered one of hers, gently but quickly prying her fingers open. She hadn't even noticed she had been clutching them, but the tiny nicks from fingernails were no lie. "Don't. I'm no expert on Wonderland but where I'm from, blood is an easy way to be tracked. If you make yourself bleed, anyone can sniff you out. Better not to make ourselves targets, let alone sitting ducks, agreed?"

Alice shuddered at the contact. It grounded her a lot faster than the pain did. Was she disgusted by his touch?

 _"Come now Alice…"_

No... It was just...different. Alice nodded again, sparing no other words until they finally entered the temple. It was a largely vacant place, the oriental theme continued.

"Ah, Alice. You finally return. Better late than never."

A large humanoid caterpillar sat perched on a myriad of cushions, smoking from his trademark hookah. Caterpillar took a deep inhale from his hookah, offering a nod to Dante. "Dante. It seems we were right in seeking you out. More progress has been made in this one day than this girl has done in two years." Alice winced, shying away from them. Caterpillar sighed, smoke bellowing out of his mouth.

"It was not meant as a barb to sting you, Alice. It is truth. Embrace it and learn." Alice remained still and silent. He thought her a lost cause too? No surprise. "You disposed of Duchess, no small feat itself. But more is needed. Wonderland's fate is nearly sealed, the odds tipped in the Red Queen's favor."

Dante didn't even back down, and why would he? He stood straight and tall as he answered. "Cheshire told us that you know of the army the Queen is building. If I am to help Wonderland, I need to better understand what I am up against." Looking down at her, he added quietly, "We both do. If Alice is to gain back what is rightfully hers, she will need her own army, will she not?"

What a fool...Didn't he see what this was all about?

He was her _replacement,_ not her guide!

Caterpillar looked over Dante, as if assessing his strengths and weaknesses. Alice shifted nervously from one foot to another. "Alice."-That gaze was on her!-"Go outside and drink the water. Your trauma will only hasten the death of Wonderland. The tea will help you regain your grasp." With that all seeing gaze set upon her through the haze of hookah smoke, there was no room for question or argument. Only for her head to nod in affirmation, and turn upon her heel. Once upon a time, she would have stomped her foot, sass and wit would be quick on her lips.

Not today.

Upon her leave, she paused outside, catching Caterpillar's sigh. Her body stood masked from view, just beyond one of the grand pillars. Caterpillar's voice wheezed on. "Her mind is fouled by self-deception. Wracked with guilt because she survived. I fear she will not see the end of this trial. Her pain is far from over." Another inhale of his hookah, an exhale of spiced smoke. That was as much as she needed to hear. Her feet burned on. Retracing their way through Earthy paths, the reeds whispering to one another as she made her way around Caterpillar's 'humble' abode. Her feet mindlessly making the journey.

 _"Wracked with guilt because she survived…"_

Guilt didn't cover it. You felt guilty taking the last slice of cake, or trodding on an anthill by mistake, or the instinct to swat a mosquito, uncaring about if their family would miss them.

Letting your family burn in a hellfire inferno? That called for more than guilt.

It should have called for death.

"Instead, here I am...Training my replacement…Almost a punishment in itself." Alice found herself whispering as she found the water's edge. The pale green waters lapping up against the shore, the scent of jasmine rolling off the waves. Green tea waters...Only in Wonderland. A painful exhale spilled from her lungs. Drink the water, Caterpillar had said. "Could have at least provided me with a teacup."

The reeds chuckled around her, parting themselves within the depths of the water. Where leaves had been curled into cone like shapes… Multiple ones. "Ask and ye shall receive… Is Caterpillar branching out?" Would it really surprise her? Even in the depths of her madness, her figments had found other avenues to sustain themselves. Alice was half surprised not to find a cricket manning a small tea shop at the water's end, instead of some giggling reeds with too much time on their… Stems. Grasping one of the coves, Alice dipped it into the sweet smelling waters. "And with tea, comes properties…" She recited, March Hare would be proud.

If he was even still alive.

Her fingers curled around her makeshift cup. "Growing, shrinking… Perhaps Caterpillar will be kind, and it will end my suffering." Her head tilted back eagerly, consuming the green tea… And felt nothing. She turned her hand over, gazing at the back of her palm. No growth, no shrinkage just...Nothing.

Her next breath came out easier.

Perhaps that was the effect. Her thoughts seemed to settle. A thousand shrieking voices and the vision of Rabbit's squashed and mangled body fading from the forefront of her mind. She sipped at her drink. The liquid seeming to settle her raw nerves, the life was back in her eyes.

"Just get him through it Alice." She reminded herself, though it remained to be seen if this too was an effect of the tea. "The sooner Dante saves Wonderland…" Well, It was a mystery as to what would happen. Wonderland was… All in her head. As painful as it was to admit. Angus had told her countless times, Wonderland was full of symbolism and metaphors…

 _"Go to Wonderland, Alice…"_

He'd have a field day with this, if ever she was to awaken.

The journey back to Caterpillar's domain was faster than the previous trip. Her footsteps must have been lightened, for caterpillar did not seem to hear her approach. Or at least, did not care to lower his tone for it. "...But such is why we called for you. If all else fails and we lose her completely, at least your strength should be enough to help us to survive."

She rounded the corner in time to see the creature had slumped forward slightly. As if the drugs in the hookah finally engulfed him whole.

Alice shuffled then to Dante's side. Steaming cup of tea held in in her no longer trembling hands. The Hunter for hire seemed to be deep in thought, pale brows furrowed at the now slumbering creature, his expression a mix of contemplation and confusion. "Smokes his brains out, sees illusions, tells the future. He's the closest thing to an Oracle Wonderland can afford. Pitiful, huh?" She was even jesting. Yes, it must have been the tea… Or she was truly that callous."All the royalty of Wonderland is heavily flawed. I'm surprised it still stands..."

He smirked then, nodding to Caterpillar. "Think about it. Wonderland isn't much different than reality in that way. We are all flawed in some way, sweetheart. The ones who rule are the ones who figure out how to turn those flaws into power." Looking up at Caterpillar one last time, he sighed. "Let's stop for the night. We'll head out in the morning. Go ahead-pick a spot you like. We will stay here tonight."

His gaze met hers, those lips twitching into a small, lopsided smile, blue eyes softening in a way that fluttered her insides. "You need some sort of food Alice. Besides foods that change your size, anything to eat in wonderland? I'm doubting you can get pizza delivered," he joked. They were jesting at one another… Was this progress?

Alice sipped at her tea. It didn't make her forget, the scene of Rabbit's death played on repeat in her mind. But her emotions were curbed. She could see the logic in moving on, and tried to will herself to do so. Didn't mean she wasn't pleased to hear that Dante wished to stop for the night. It had all been too much. She needed a breather herself.

She moved through the temple, following the lines of the bamboo until they found themselves in an adjoined room with a window that framed the grey sky, the black and red Kanji still raining down steadily. Mat beds were already set up. Alice cocked an eyebrow. Two of them. Caterpillar must have known. Why wouldn't he? He was an Oracle. She supposed it would have to do, for a night.

She stared down into her cup, before offering it to Dante. "Trade you, for my rabbit."

Dante crossed her then, his hand extending for her shoulder, her body turned away from the contact, as if they were magnets of the same pole. Her gaze dropped, but she could hear his chuckle continue. It…wasn't sneering. "I'll do you one better. You can have your rabbit, and I'll only have one sip of tea. Then you finish it. Instead, you can get in my right pocket and get me my lighter and my cigarettes."

Oh. Right. His coat. It was still wrapped around her form. That was what he had been reaching for. Her cheeks burned, matching the color of the stolen coat that engulfed her form.

Dante hardly seemed to mind, he sank down upon one of the mats, his back against the wall and his head tilted back, eyes closed. He took her teacup in one hand, holding out her rabbit in the other. She shuffled away in haste, shrugging off the coat as she did so. She didn't want to touch the lighter, and she wasn't cold anyway. Having his coat, he pulled out the cigarettes and the lighter, keeping the latter hidden from her view-Did he know? Mcgill must have told him. Keeping the flame behind his hand, he lit up quickly and took a long drag. Tucking the paraphernalia back into his pocket, he looked at his partner. "Tomorrow we head out to see the Pale Faces, whoever they are. Sound like a plan?"

Alice retreated hastily with her rabbit, flopping down on the other mat. Alice brushed the hem of her dress down over them, meeting her stripped socks. The rabbit ticked softly in her lap, her fingers fussing over it, adjusting the clothes on the explosive toy.

"Pale faces are white chess pieces." She whispered with a hint of a smile. "They're very nice...They hid me from the Queen when I came here two years ago. Never fussed about how long I was taking..." Lot of good that did them all now.

Alice was silent for another spell, though her gaze never left Dante's. There was a question on her lips, and she was struggling to word it. "Dante...They hired you...You don't fear this place...What do you do?"  
His eyes were quick seeming to consider her question. Alice wondered what Angus would think of it. Wonderland was always eager to throw her into backstories and riddles. But Dante? He seemed as reluctant as she. Would the doctor think him a reflection of herself? Or was he simply an anomaly. After all she didn't ask others much about anything pertaining to reality. He drew in another drag. "I own a business. People come to me when they need help getting rid of problems. Most of the people who come to me have a demon problem or need help finding something that has been lost. I'm not sure how Wonderland found me but I won't leave until I finish helping you. It's bad business to leave a job undone." Alice nodded quietly, not wishing to press the matter any further. A demon hunter; no wonder Wonderland sought him out.

A job to be done. That was all she was now.

He was experienced. What was she? Some crazy, suicidal girl who had no business trying to protect anyone. God knows she was terrible at it. She only helped people find their deaths. Never the other way around. She hugged her rabbit close, wishing she was stronger. It had been easy being cocky and proud when they first met. She was pretending Wonderland was simply this way. Ignoring the problem. Wonderland was in shambles, and it was her fault. and now someone else had been dragged under. Wonderland should have been her cross to bear alone. She couldn't even apologize. It was a job to him. Nothing more.  
Her gaze lingered on his cigarette. The scent of burning chemical and nicotine ripping through her tea infused calm. Must everyone smoke? Caterpillar, Mcgee, Duchess, now this creature. It was a theme she wish she could rid herself of.

Perhaps her subconscious needed a reminder. "A fire killed them." She sighed, bringing her knees to her chest."My mother, father... My big sister Elizabeth..."

That seemed to catch him off guard. Pale brows rose, his lips parted slightly, cigarette dangling from pale, full lips. Catching her gaze on his cigarette he sighed, shoulders slumping as he took one last long drag before snubbing it out on the bottom of his boot. The corner of her lips twitched. A silent thank you.

His gaze pinned her then. "And you got out? Of the fire?"

And the pin turned into a stab. The four letter 'f' word, which was not an expletive in any sane person's vocabulary. Alice wasn't sure why she said it. Maybe the smoke was getting to her. Everyone they had encountered today save for Chesh smoked. The fire from Duchess's hellhole still lingered, the smell of melted flesh and burnt wood clinging to her dress. But Caterpillar had talked to him. It was clear that he was to be the new savior. He deserved to know what put Wonderland in such a state.

"I was here when it happened. Back when it held good memories for me..." Back when Hatter was her friend. When tea parties held the only drama. back when Knave would only look at her with mild annoyance, or when Lance would smile, and vow to make her blush over tea. "They told me to leave. We were in the middle of a tea party," She could see it, the tea party, the scent of smoke. Hatter had begun his trembling. Crying out for her to leave. To run, to jump. "I didn't know what was wrong. They made me climb out the window…" A window in the middle of the garden. She had thought it ever so queer then. "I fell for so long..." She twitched and hugged her rabbit tighter.

"I woke up outside my home." The flames were back before her, the walls cracking and popping." They were screaming. I couldn't do anything. I sat there until it stopped. Their screams, the fire...Everything..." And she was supposed to be their champion? She was surprised they gave her the chance in the first place. "Angus said I knocked over a candle while in my delusions. I caused it...It's all my fault..."

Dante blinked, her gaze was tentative to meet his again, but his silence was… Worse than ridicule. "Angus...that Doctor? He's the one who told you about how the fire started? Alice..." He stopped he started again. "When I came to Wonderland, I think I came in a different way. I think my whole body came with me. I chased Rabbit into a portal. Do you think my body is still lying out on the street in reality?" He never asked her opinion questions. It was enough to pull her from the smoky memories of her past. He genuinely wanted to know what she thought? As if she was the expert on travelling between these two worlds...As if they were truly separate.

She could answer the best way she knew how. "I would always retreat in my mind or books. The first time I came here I fell asleep in the garden..." There was a fond smile on her lips at the memory. She had been such a small thing then. Yet she was twice as brave then. Or simply more curious. "For R..." She swallowed with difficulty, her fingers clinging to her rabbit. "A portal to let him out with a body would take you in the same way." Alice rubbed at her wrists subconsciously. She supposed she was catatonic again, was she still bound in reality?

 _"It's for your own good, Alice."_

 _"Be a good girl, Alice."_

Dante moved to readjust himself, pulling her from her thoughts once more, he moved so that he was stretched out on the bed, still sitting up but his legs stretched out in front of him."Before the fire, when you came to Wonderland, you were in the house right? When you came back though, you were outside of the house. How did that happen Alice? Has your body ever moved while in Wonderland before?"

Alice toyed with the ears of her rabbit. He was going somewhere with this… But her body refused to see the connection. The day was long. It felt as though years had passed since she left the confines of her room, and began their newest leg of her hellish path. She fell to her side with the rabbit, laying on her side with the explosive toy in the foreground, watching Dante in the background.

"I don't remember ever doing it before. But Dr. Bumby says it is a common occurrence." Once again quoting that Doctor of hers. But he was the only one she saw, the only man who knew of her ailments. "Schizophrenic. That's what he called me." She muttered the word, poking the rabbit gently, until it fell sideways, mirroring her position. "He said I'll never be cured. I can't make him any money... No one will hire me. So I do what I can around the Asylum. Mostly fetching things and showing the men the other children." Her stomach burned at the memory. Her finger prodded at the rabbit's foot, unconnected to her words. "Can't remember when I found the knife..."

Rolling his head to the side, Dante frowned as he looked to her. "Alice...I'm going to say something and I just want you to think about it, okay?" Taking a breath, he folded his hands behind his head and leaned back. A rather casual position, considering the subject matter. "There are a lot of things in your life that have happened-terrible things, that the only thing you know about them is information given to you by Angus. You and I both know that everyone has flaws. We agreed on that earlier, correct? What if Angus wasn't telling you the full truth? What if that was his flaw?"

Alice took the words in silence. Not barking at him as she had the last time he spoke against Angus. Clearly that tea had a strong effect on her, subduing her enough not to take the words as another attack against her.

"He has no reason to lie to me. Angus helped me. I would be dead if not for him." She was no longer focused on the rabbit, her gaze trained on her partner. No. Not partner. Replacement. Alice had to make sure to remember that. And how would he know of her relationship with Angus. Even if this wasn't a figment of her imagination… he was too strong to know her brand of weakness. "I'm older than all the other patients. I'm an adult now. He doesn't have to keep me. But he does. He says I'm a lost cause but he doesn't mind. He keeps me anyway. He cares for me."

Dante didn't look away from Alice, his blue eyes glued to her form as he spoke. "That's sort of the point though, isn't it? He had no reason to keep you, so why did he? It isn't out of affection Alice. People who love you or hell, even like you, won't tell you that you are a lost cause. That you are worthless. People who like you will do whatever it takes to help you."

"Everyone calls me a lost cause. Chesh, Caterpillar, Turtle..." That was why he was here wasn't it? If Wonderland believed she could do this, they would have left her to it. Even if it took years. But she couldn't do it. All she was good for was a paperweight at this point. "I didn't do anything to save my family. I sat and watched the flames destroy my home. I sat and ignored Wonderland for years. It finally dragged me back in, and I still haven't done anything." Even the progress they made now was not thanks to her. It was Dante.

She smiled softly. At least someone could do it. "It doesn't matter what happens to me. Wonderland is what needs saving."

Her gaze lifted once more, and to her surprise, Dante had moved to face her fully. Those blue eyes that had been so full of mirth and bravado before were softened. Intense, even. Alice wished she had the strength to squirm under his gaze. It was so intense and… Penetrative. His voice was quiet as he continued to stare at her, his eyes looking at her green ones. "I can't save Wonderland without its Princess, Alice. I don't think you're a lost cause..." Thoughts stopped.

It was the first time someone said anything like that to her. At least, someone who came from the 'real' world. The creatures of Wonderland had their moments between loving and hating her. But people in reality were all the same. And as timed moved on, and Wonderland such further into madness she was useless to them.

Emerald eyes appeared unburdened, if only for a moment. For a moment she wasn't the broken child who had entered this place. Just a woman unsure and hurting. Just Alice. The girl of nineteen, with far too much baggage than her mind could carry.

She felt her cheeks grow hot under his gaze, and shifted herself to the mat beneath her. "T-Thank you. Dante."

Giving her a small smile, he whispered. "Try to sleep Alice. I'll stay up and keep watch. You need to rest so that you can lead us to the Pale Faces tomorrow."

Watching her replacement with newfound intrigue, she watched him fold his coat, making a makeshift pillow out of it and laid down on his back, keeping his hands behind his head and crossing his legs at the ankle. Head barely nodded at his chest, She watched his chest rise and fall with each breathe that he took.

Alice wasn't sure when she fell asleep, or even how she managed. But the flames were back again. Once again she was ten, sitting outside her home, watching as the fire spread from one room to another. Her young self was dressed in her nightgown, clutch to her stuffed rabbit. The fire illuminated her room first, before moving onto the next. Her sister's room. The cries of her sister were so shrill and desperate, Alice realized she had been struck down in fear. It wasn't that she didn't move, she couldn't. She was useless to aid her sister, only watching the flames lick from the window.

Lizzie's scream found itself on her own lips, her body flung into a seated position once again. Was she asleep for hours? Minutes? It was hardly the first question on her mind. She clamped her fingers over her mouth, muffled the noise as she came down from the horrific high of her dream.

She was thankful to have a mouthful of tea left. She felt its magic working on her immediately, settled her frazzled nerves. Enough that in a matter of seconds she was simply sitting, her expression quizzical. "Lizzie's window was open. Why didn't she jump too..."


End file.
